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CORNELL

UNIVERSITY

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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924088418466

MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA
MELBOURNE

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

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THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd.

TORONTO

A HISTORY OF PERSIA

(Through the courtesy of Doctor Ahmad Khan.)

History is a mirror of the past
And a lesson for the present.

A Persian Pro<verb.

''^K'-Hivd bv OlieavVv

SHAH ABBAS THE GRKAT.

(From an original Persian painting.)

(From Sir John Malcolm's History of Persia.)

HISTORY OF PERSIA

LiEUT.-CoL. P. M. SYKES

C.M.G., CLE.

INDIAN ARMY

GOLD MEDALLIST OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY

AUTHOR OF * TEN THOUSAND MILES IN PERSIA '

AND ' THE GLORY OF THE SHIA WORLD '

ACHAEMENIAN GOLD PaTERA.

(From Br. Museum.)

WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

IN TWO VOLUMES— VOL. II

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON

1915

Part of a Persian Hunting Scene.
(From a Silver Vase in the Hermitage Museum.)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XLIV

The Early Career of Mohamed at Mecca .

A Description of Arabia — The Importance of Mecca — The
Ancient Religion of the Arabs — The Kaaba — The Ancestors of
the Prophet Mohamed — The Political Situation in Arabia before
and after the Birth of the Prophet — The Childhood, Youth, and
Early Manhood of Mohamed — The Divine Commission conveyed
by Gabriel — The Assumption of the Prophetical Office, a.d. 613-
614 — The Temporary Emigration to Abyssinia, a.d. 615.

PAGE

CHAPTER XLV

The Flight to Medina and the Establishment of Islam

The Hijra, or " Flight,'^ to Medina, a.d. 622 — The Erection
of the First Mosque at Medina — The Breach with the Jews — The
Battle of Badr, a.h. 2 (623), and the Expulsion of the Beni Kainu-
cas — The Battle of Ohod, a.h. 3 (625), and the Expulsion of the
Beni Nazir — The Siege of Medina and the Massacre of the
Beni Koreitza, a.h. 5 (627) — The Truce of Hodeibia, a.h. 6 (628)
— The Embassies sent by Mohamed, a.h. 7 (628) — The Conquest
of Khaybar, a.h. 7 (628)— The "Fulfilled Pilgrimage," a.h. 7
(629) — The Battle of Muta, a.h. 8 (629) — The Capture of Mecca,
a.h. 8 (630) — The Last Campaign of Mohamed, a.h. 9 (630) —
The Final Orders of the Prophet — The " Farewell Pilgrimage," a.h.
10 (630) — The Death of Mohamed, a.h. ii (632)— His Character
— The Koran.

vi HISTORY OF PERSIA

CHAPTER XLVI

PAGE

Islam under the First Four Caliphs . . • - ^S

The Period of the Caliphate, a.d. 632-1258— The Genealogical
Table of the Kureish — The Election of Abu Bekr— The Re-
bellions, A.H. II (632)— The Battle on the Yermuk, a.h. 13 (634)
—The Death of Abu Bekr and the Accession of Omar, a.h. 13
(534)_The Capture of Damascus, a.h. 14 (635)— The Capture of
Antioch and the Capitulation of Jerusalem, a.h. 15 (636)— The
Conquest of Egypt, a.h. 19-20 (640-641)— The Assassination of
Omar, a.h. 23 (644)— The Accession of Othman, a.h. 24 (644)—
The Expansion of Islam to the West, a.h. 25-31 (646-652)— The
Campaigns in Persia, a.h. 31 (652)— The Murder of Othman, a.h.
35 (656) — The Election of Ali, a.h. 35 (656) — Muavia, the
Governor of Syria— The Proclamation of War against Muavia by
Ali, A.H. 35 (656)— The Battle of the Camel, a.h. 36 (656)— The
Battle of Siffin, a.h. 37 (657)— The Arbitration, a.h. 37 (658)—
The Kharijites— The Last Years of All's Caliphate— His Assassina-
tion, A.H. 40 (661)— His Character— The Position of Persia.

CHAPTER XLVII

The Tragedy of Kerbela . . . . -39

The Accession of Hasan and his Abdication, a.h. 40 (661) —
The Death-bed Warning of Muavia to Yezid, a.h. 61 (680) — The
Invitation to Husayn from the Inhabitants of Kufa — The March
on Kufa — The Tragedy — The Journey to Damascus and the
Return to Medina — The Passion Plays — The Historical Basis of
the Shia Sect — Its Religious Basis and Doctrines.

CHAPTER XLVIII

Persia a Province of the Omayyad Caliphate . . 47

The Omayyad Dynasty — The Position of Muavia strengthened
by the Adherence of Zlad — Moslem Progress in the East — The
Power and Prosperity of Muavia — Yezid declared Heir- Apparent,
a.h. 56 (676), and his Succession in a.h. 61 (680) — The Reoellion
of Ibn Zobayr, a.h. 61 (680) — The Bokhara Campaign — The
Campaign of the Northern Beduin against the Southern Beduin,
A.H. 46-65 (666-685) — The Divisions in the Caliphate, a.h. 61-
73 (680-692) — The Massacre of the Enemies of Husayn, a.h. 66
(685) — The Azrakites — The Rebellion of Ibn-al-Ashath, a.h. 80
(699) — The Rebellion of Musa ibn Khazim — Death and Char-
acter of Abdul Malik — The Campaigns in Central Asia, a.h. 86-
96 (705-714) — The Advance to the Indus, a.h. 89-96 (707-714)
— The Achievements of Welld, a.h. 86-96 (705-714) — The
Campaigns of Yezid in Gurgan and Tabaristan, a.h. 98 (716) —

CONTENTS vii

PAGE

Khorasan under the Caliphate of Omar II., a.h. 99-101 (717-720)
— The Reign of Yezid II., a.h. 101-105 (720-724) — The Abbasid
Propaganda — The Rebellion of Zayd, a.h. 122 (740) — The
Caliphate of Hisham, a.h, 105-125 (724-743) — Welid II. and
Yezid III., A.H. 125-126 (743-744) — The Rebellion of Ibn Muavia,
A.H. 126-129 (744-747) — The Raising of the Black Standard
in Khorasan, A.H. 129 (747) — The Battle of the Great Zab, a.h.
132 (750) — The Condition of Persia under the Omayyad Dynasty.

CHAPTER XLIX

Persian Ascendancy in the Early Abbasid Period . . 61

The End of Moslem Unity — The Accession of Abul Abbas,
A.H. 132 (749) — The Massacre of the Omajryads — The Reign of
Abul Abbas and his Death, a.h. 136 (754) — Abu Jafar, Mansur,
A.H. 136-158 (754-775) — The Execution of Abu MusUm, a.h. 137
(754) — The Rebellions in Persia, a.h. 138 (756), and a.h. 141-143
(758-760) — The Ravandis, a.h. 141 (758) — The Rebellion of the
Descendants of Hasan, a.h. 144 (761) — The Foundation of
Baghdad, a.h. 145 (762) — The Rising at Herat, a.h. 150 (767) —
Persian Influence under Mansur — Mehdi, a.h. 158-169 (775-785)
— The Veiled Prophet of Khorasan, a.h. 158-161 t774-777) —
Hadi, A.H. 169-170 (785-786).

CHAPTER L

The Golden Age of Islam . . . . .68

The Splendour of Haroun-al-Rashid, a.h. 170-193 (786-809)
— The Hasanite Prince of Daylam, a.h. 176 (792) — The Downfall
of the Barmecides — The Death of Haroun-al-Rashid, a.h. 193 (809)
— Amin and Mamun, a.h. 193-198 (808-813) — Mamun pro-
claimed Caliph of the East, a.h. 196 (811) — The Campaigns of
Tahir the Ambidextrous and the Death of Amin — Rebellions in
the Western Half of the Caliphate, a.h. 198-201 (813-816) — The
Proclamation of Ali Riza as Heir-Apparent, a.h. 201 (817) — His
Sudden Death, a.h. 203 (818) — Tahir, Viceroy of the East, a.h.
204-207 (819-822) — The Later Years of Mamun and his Death,.
A.H. 218 (833) — The Arts, Science, and Literature under Mamun
— Moslem Exploration and Geography — The Mutazila Sect —
Motasim, a.h. 218-227 (833-842) — The Mamelukes and the
Founding of Samarra — The Revolt of the Jatt or Gypsies — The-
Capture of Babek, a.h. 222 (837) — The Campaign against the
Greeks, a.h. 223 (83S) — The Later Years of Motasim's Reign —
Wathik, a.h. 227-232 (842-847).

CHAPTER LI

The Decay of the Caliphate and the Revival of Persian

Independence . . . . . .82

The Orthodox Reaction under Mutawakkil, a.h. 232-247 (847-
861) — The Palace of Samarra and the Cypress of Kishmar — The
Tahiri Dynasty, a.h. 205-259 (820-872) — A Period of Anarchy,

VOL. II b

PAGE

viii HISTORY OF PERSIA

A.H. 247-256 (861-870) — The Rise of the Saffar Dynasty—
Motamid, a.h. 256-279 (870-892)— The Zanj Insurrection, a.h.
255-270 (869-S83) — The Brilliant Career of Vakub bin Lais^ —
The Origin of the Ismaili Sect— The Carmathians — ^The Rise of
the Samanid Dynasty — The Career of Amr-ul-Lais, a.h. 265-290
(87S-903) — The Samanid Dynasty at its Zenith — Its Decay and
Downfall— The Ziyarid Dynasty, a.h. 316-43+ (928-1042)- The
Buwayhid or Daylamite Dynasty, a.h. 320-447 (932-1055) — The
Dynasty of Ghazna, a.h. 351-582 (962-1186).

CHAPTER LII

The Coming of the Seljuk Turks . . . .98

The Importance of the Seljuks — Their Origin — Masud of
Ghazna — The Founding of the Seljuk Dynasty, a.h. 429 (1037)
— The Career of Toghril Beg, a.h. 429-455 (1037-1063) — Malik
KaAS'ard of Kerman, a.h. 433-465 (1041-1072) — Alp Arslan, a.h.
455-465 (1063-1072) — The Seljuk Empire at its Zenith under
Malik Shah, a.h. 465-485 (1072-1092) — The Downfall of the
Nizam-ul-Mulk — The Death of Malik Shah, a.h. 485 (1092) —
The Assassins — The Fatimid Dynasty, a.h. 297-567 (909-1171)
—The Career of Hasan Sabbah— "The Old Man of the Mountain"
— The Initiation of the Devotees — Mahmud, a.h. 485 (1092) ;
Barkiyaruk, a.h. 487 (1094) ; Malik Shah II., a.h. 498 (1104) ;
Mohamed, a.h. 498-511 (1104-1117) — The Seljuks of Kerman,
a.h. 433-583 (1041-1187) — The Origin of the Crusades — ^The First
Crusade, a.d. 109 5- 1099 — The Defeat of the First Armv by the
Seljuks — The Capture of Nicaea and of Antioch by the Crusaders
— The Storming of Jerusalem, a.h. 492 (1099).

CHAPTER LIII

The Disruption of the Seljuk Empire . . .118

Sultan Sanjar at the Height of his Fame — An Episode of the
Assassins — The Ghorid Dynasty, a.h. 543-612 (114S-1215) — The
Rise of the Shahs of Khwarazm — The Kara Khitai Dynasty — The
Defeat of Sultan Sanjar by the Kara Khitai, a.h. 536 (1141) — The
Capture of Sultan Sanjar by the Ghuzz, a.h. 548 (11 5 3) — The
Atrocities committed by the Ghuzz — Their Ravages in the Kerman
Province — The Escape and Death of Sultan Sanjar, a.h. 552
(1157) — His Character — The Revival of the Caliphate — The
Khwarazm Dynasty at its Zenith — The Atabegs — The End of a
Great Period.

CHAPTER LIV

Persian Literature before the Mongol Invasion . 130

The Birth of Persian Literature — Rudagi — Al-Biruni —
Avicenna — Firdausi — The Siasat-Nama — Nasir-i-Khusru — Omar
Khayyam — The Kabus-Nama — Al-Ghazali — Muizzi — Nizami-
al-Arudi — Anwari and Khakani — Nizami — Attar — A Criticism.

CONTENTS ix

CHAPTER LV

PAGE

The Mongol Cataclysm . . , . '144

The Awful Nature of the Mongol Invasion — The Origin of
the Mongols — Yissugay, the Father of Chengiz Khan — The Rise
of Chengiz Khan, a.d. i 175-1206 — The Downfall of the Kara
Khitai Dynasty — The Mongol Invasion of Turkestan, a.h. 615
(121 8) — The Outbreak of Hostilities with Khwarazm — The In-
vasion of Transoxiana, a.h. 616 (12 19) — The Pursuit of Mohamed
and his Death, a.h. 617 (1220) — The Siege of Urganj, a,h. 617
(1220) — The Devastation of Khorasan, a.h. 617 (1220) — The
Destruction of Merv and Nishapur — The Capture of Herat —
The Campaign against Jalal-u-Din, a.h. 618 (1221) — The Return
to Tartary of Chengiz Khan — The Devastation of Western and
North-Western Persia — The Death of Chengiz Khan, a.h. 624.
(1227) — His Character and Genius.

CHAPTER LVI

The Extinction of the Caliphate by Hulagu Khan . 162

The Division of the Mongol Empire — Three Great Expedi-
tions — The Campaign of Jalal-u-Din in India, a.h. 619 (1222) —
His Return to Persia, a.h. 620 (1223) — Ghias-u-Din — The Cam-
paign against the Caliph, a.h. 622 (1225) — The Battle of Isfahan,
a.h. 625 (1228) — The Single Combats of Jalal-u-Din — His Escapes
from the Mongols and his Death, a.h. 628 (1231) — The Mongol
Campaigns in Asia Minor and Syria — The Kutlugh Khans of
Kerman, a.h. 619-703 (1222-1303) — Christian Missions to the
Mongols, A.D. 1 245-1 253 — The Administration of Northern Persia
before Hulagu Khan — The Appointment of Hulagu Khan to
Persia, a.h. 649 (1251) — The Dynasty of t^he Assassins at its
Zenith — The Extirpation of the Assassins, a.h. 654 (1256) — The
Sack of Baghdad and the Execution of the Caliph, a.h. 6^6 (1258)
— The Last Years of Hulagu Khan and his Death, a.h. 663
(1265).

CHAPTER LVII

The Heathen Il-Khans of Persia . . . - ^77

Abaga, A.H. 663-680 (i 265-1 281) — The Invasion from Russia,
A.H. 664 (1266) — Hayton, King of Armenia and Baybars of Egypt,
A.H. 66^-66$ (1266-1267) — The Invasion of Khorasan by Borak,
A.H. 668 (1270) — Yusuf Shah I., Atabeg of Luristan — The Devas-
tation of Khwarazm and Transoxiana by Abaga, a.h. 671 (1272)
— The Battle of Abulistin, a.h. 675 (1277) — The Battle of Hims,
a.h. 680 (1281) — The Intercourse of Abaga with Europe — The
Journey of Marco Polo in Persia, a.d. 1271 — Ahmad, a.h. 680-683
(1281-1284) — The Reign of Arghun, a.h. 683-690 (1284-1291)
— John de Monte Corvino — Gaykhatu, a.h. 690-694 (1291-1295),
and Baydu, a.h. 694 (1295) — The Return of Marco Polo to Persia,
A.D. 1294*

HISTORY OF PERSIA

CHAPTER LVIII

PAGE

Ghazan Khan, the Great Il-Khan . . . .188

The Accession of Ghazan, a.h. 694 (1295) — His First Syrian
Campaign, a.h. 699 (1299)— The Raiding of Southern Persia from
Transoxiana — The Defeat of the Mongols in Syria, a.h. 702
(1303) — The Relations of Ghazan with Byzantium and the
Western Powers — His Reforms — His Buildings and Endowments
— Uljaitu, a.h. 703-716 (1304.-1316) — Abu Said, a.h. 716-736
(13 1 6-1 335) — The Puppet Il-Khans — The Jalayr Dynasty, a.h.
736-814(1336-1411) — TheMuzaffarids,A.H. 713-795(1313-1393)
— The Karts of Herat, a.h. 643-791 (i 245-1 389).

CHAPTER LIX

Tamerlane . . . . . . .196

Transoxiana in the Middle of the Fourteenth Century — The
Fame of Tamerlane — His Birth in a.h. 736 (1335) and his Early
Years — His Submission to Tughluk Timur Khan — His Early
Wanderings — Tamerlane or "Timur the Lame" — The Rallying
of his Relations and Adherents — The Campaigns with Khoja Ilias
— The Struggle between Tamerlane and Amir Husayn, a.h. 767-
771 (1365-1369) — The Conquest of Jatah and of Khwarazm, a.h.
771-782 (i 369-1380) — The Surrender of Herat, a.h. 782 (1380)
— The Siege of Kalat-i-Nadiri and of Turshiz — The Sistan Cam-
paign, A.H. 785 (1383) — The Campaign in Northern Persia, a.h.
786 (1384) — The Campaign in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Fars,
A.H. 788-790 (1386-1388) — Tamerlane and Hafiz — The Cam-
paigns with Toktamish, a.h. 790-793 (i 388-1 391) — The Campaign
in Fars and Irak, a.h. 794-795 (i 392-1 393) — The Siege of Takrit,
A.H. 796 (1393) — The Second Campaign in Russia, a.h. 797 (1394)
— The Invasion of India, a.h. 800-801 (i 398-1 399) — The Cam-
paign against the Mamelukes, a.h. 803 (1401) — The Defeat of
Bayazid, a.h. 804 (1402) — The Castilian Embassy to the Court of
Samarcand — The Death of Tamerlane, a.h. 807 (1405) — His
Character and Achievements.

CHAPTER LX

The Timurid Monarchs of Persia . . . .216

Khalil Sultan, a.h. 807-812 (1404-1409)— Shah Rukh, a.h.
807-850 (1404-1447) — Ulugh Beg, the Astronomer-King— Abu
Said, a.h. 855-872 (1452-1467)— The Last Princes of tlie Timurid
Dynasty— The "Black Sheep" Dynasty, a.h. 780-874 (i 378-1469)

— The "White Sheep" Dynasty, a.h. 780-908 (1378-1502)

The Alliance of Uzun Hasan with Venice — The Rise of the Shay-
banid Dynasty— Baber— The Literary and Scientific Attainments
of the Timurid Dynasty.

CONTENTS xi

CHAPTER LXI

PAGE

•Literature and Architecture under the Mongols . .225

The Historians of the Early Mongol Period — The Later
Historians — Yakut, the Geographer — Nasir-u-Din, the Philosopher
and Man of Science — The Sufis or Mystics — Jalal-u-Din, Rumi
— Sadi — Hafiz — Jami — The Tomb of Khudabanda at Sultania —
The Shrine of the Imam Riza — The Mosque of Gauhar Shad —
The Madrasa at Khargird — The Mahun Shrine.

CHAPTER LXII

The Rise of the Safavi Dynasty .... 240

The Ancestors of the Safavi Dynasty — Ismail, the Founder of
the Dynasty, a.h. 905-930 (1499-1524) — The Defeat of the Uzbegs
by Shah Ismail, a.h. 916 (15 10) — Shah Ismail and Baber — The
Final Defeat of Baber by the Uzbegs, a.h. 918 J[i5i2) — The
Campaign of Selim the Grim, a.h. 920 (15 14) — The Death of Shah
Ismail and his Character — Tahmasp, a.h. 930-984 (15 24-1 576) —
The Invasions of Persia by Sulayman the Magnificent — The Fugi-
tive Emperor Humayun — The Rebellion of Ilkhas Mtrza, a.h.
954-955 (1547-1548) — The Perso-Turkish Treaty of Peace, a.h.
962 (1555) — The Betrayal of Bayazid, son of Sulayman — The
Embassies of Anthony Jenkinson to Bokhara and Persia, a.d.
1558-1563 — An Account of Persia by D'Alessandri, a.d. 1571 —
Ismail II., A.H. 984 (1576) — Mohamed Khudabanda, a.h. 985
(1578).

CHAPTER LXni

Shah Abbas the Great . . . .256

Shah Abbas I., a.h. 985-1038 (1587-1629) — The Turkish
Invasion, a.h. 995-998 (1587-1590) — The Uzbeg Invasions — The
Temporary Abdication, a.h. iooo (1591) — The Arrival in Persia
of the Sherley Brothers, a.d. 1598 — The Reorganization of the
Persian Army — The Formation of the Shah Savan Tribe — Sir
Anthony Sherley as Ambassador — The Successful Campaigns
against Turkey, a.h. 1011-1036 (i 602-1 627) — The Embassies
of Sir Robert Sherley — The Administrative Genius of Shah Abbas

' His Encouragement of Pilgrimages — His Domestic Life — His

Death and Character.

CHAPTER LXIV

The Struggle for Ascendancy in the Persian Gulf . 269

The Effect on History of Rounding the Cape of Good Hope
—The Importance of Hormuz— The First Portuguese Expedition

xii HISTORY OF PERSIA

against Hormuz, a.d. 1507— The Persian Demand for Tribute—
The Failure of the Expedition— The Final Occupation of Hormuz
by the Portuguese, a.d. 15 15— The Beginning of English Maritime
Intercourse with the East— The First English Attempt to Trade
with Persia by Sea, a.d. 16 14 — The Journey of Connock, a.d.
1616-1617— The Persian Question of the Period— The Spanish
Embassy to Persia, 161 8-1 61 9— The Battle of Jask, a.d. 1620— The
Capture of Hormuz by an Anglo-Persian Expedition, a.d. 1622 —
The Dutch— The French— The Embassy of Sir Dodmore Cotton
to Shah Abbas, a.d. 1627— The Fortunes of the British.

PAGE

CHAPTER LXV

Architecture and Art vnder the Safavi Dynasty . . 284

Isfahan, the Safavi Capital — The Royal Square — The
Royal Mosque — The Ala Kapi — The Chehel Sutun — The
Chahar Bagh — The Madrasa-i-Shah Husayn — The Bridge of
Allah Verdi Khan— Tiles— Pottery— Carpets— Painting— Metal
Work.

CHAPTER LXVI

The Decline of the Safavi Dynasty . . . 296

The Cause of the Decline — Shah Safi, a.h. 1038-1052 (1629-
1642) — The Holstein Embassy, 1637 — The Uzbegs — The Cap-
ture of Hamadan by the Turks, a.h. 1039 (1630) — The Erivan
Campaign, a.h. 1045 (1635) — The Capture of Baghdad, a.h.
1048 (1638) — Abbas II., A.H. 1052-1077 (1642-1667) — The
Uzbeg Refugees — The First Russian Embassy to Persia, a.d. 1664
— Sulayman, a.h. 1077-1105 (1667-1694) — The Accession of
Shah Sultan Husayn, a.h. 1105 (1694) — The Embassies of Peter
the Great, a.d. 1708 and 17 15 — The Failure in the Persian
Gulf.

CHAPTER LXVn

The Ghilzais of Kandahar . . , 305

A Sketch of Afghanistan — Its Inhabitants — The Province of
Kandahar — The Ghilzais — The Appointment of Gurgin Khan —
Mir Vais — The Murder of Gurgin Khan and the Massacre
of the Persian Garrison, a.h. 1121 (1709) — The Consolidation of
Power by Mir Vais — His Two Victories over Persian Armies —
Mir Abdulla, a.h. 1128-1130 (1715-1717) — The Rise of the
Abdalis of Herat.

CONTENTS xiii

CHAPTER LXVIII

PAGE

The Overthrow of the Safavi Dynasty . . .312

The First Expedition of Mahmud, a.h. 1133 (1720) — The
Disgrace of the Vizier and of Lutf Ali Khan — Signs and Portents
— The Second Expedition of Mahmud, a.h. 1135 (1722) — The
Afghan and Persian Armies — The Battle of Gulnabad, a.h. 1135
(1722) — The Capture of Farrahabad and the Capitulation of Julfa
— The Investment of Isfahan — The Heroic Inhabitants of Ben
Isfahan — The Ujmsuccessful Mission of Tahmasp Mirza — The
Death of the White Eunuch— Malik Mahmud of Sistan — The
Surrender of Isfahan, a.h. 1135 (1722) — The Downfall of the
Dynasty.

CHAPTER LXIX

The Expulsion of the Afghans . . . .321

The First Acts of Mahmud — The Surrender of S^um, Kashan
andKazvin to the Afghans — The Will of Peter the Great: — The Cap-
ture of Derbent by Peter, a.h. i i 35 (1722) — His Occupation of Resht
and Baku, a.d. 1723 — The Treaty of Shah Tahmasp with Russia,
A.D. 1723 — The Persian Insurrection at Kazvin, a.h. 1136 (1723)
— The Massacres at Isfahan, a.d. 1723 — The Capture of Shiraz,
A.H. 1137 (1724) — An Attack on Bandar Abbas — Afghan Intrigues
— The M[assacre of the Safavi Princes — The Death of Mahmud,
A.H. 1 137 (1725) — His Appearance and Character — The Turkish
Invasion of Georgia, A.D. 1 722-1 723 — The Russo-Turkish Treaty
for the Dismemberment of Persia, a.d. 1724 — The Conquest of
Western Persia by the Turks, a.d. i 724-1 725-^The Accession of
Ashraf, a.h. 1137 (1725) — The Victory of Ashraf over the Turks,
A.H. 1 1 38 (1726) — Shah Tahmasp joined by Nadir Kuli, a.h. 1139
(1727) — The Conquest of Khorasan by Nadir Kuli — The Defeat
of the Afghans at Mehmandost, a.h. 1141 (1729) — The Second
Defeat of the Afghans at Murchakhar, a.h. 1141 (1729) — The
Reoccupation of Isfahan — The Final Rout of the Afghans, a.h.
1142 (1730) — The Death of Ashraf, a.h. 1142 (1730) — The Flight
of the Afghans.

CHAPTER LXX

The Rise of Nadir Kuli to the Throne of Persia . -339

The Origin and Birthplace of Nadir Kuli — His Captivity
and Escape — Appointment to Abivard — Service under Malik
Mahmud — His Capture of Kalat and Nishapur — His Dreams —
The Capture of Meshed and the Execution of Malik Mahmud—
The Reward for the Expulsion of the Afghans— Nadir Kuli's First
Turkish Campaign — Tahmasp's Disastrous Campaign against the
Turks, a.h. 1 144 (1731)— His Dethronement in a.h. 1145 (1732)
—The Battle of Karkuk, a.h. 1146 (1733)— The Persian Victory

xiv HISTORY OF PERSIA

PAGE

over Topal Osman, a.h. 1146 (i733) — The Persian Victory of
Baghavand, a.h. 1148 (1735)— The Evacuation of the Caspian
Provinces by Russia — The Accession of Nadir Kuli to the Throne,
A.H. 1 148 (1736) — The Abolition of the Shia Doctrines — The
Coronation of Nadir Shah.

CHAPTER LXXI

The Conquests of Nadir Shah .... 349

The Punitive Expedition against the Bakhtiaris — The Afghan
Campaign, a.h. 1150-1151 (17 3 7-1 7 3 8) — The Expedition of Riza
Kuli Mirza against Balkh — The State of India in a.h. 1151
(1738) — The Negotiations — The Invasion of India — The Battle of
Karnal, A.H. 1151 (1738) — The Surrender of Delhi and its Spoils
— The Massacre — The Marriage of Nasrulla Khan — The Results
of the Campaign — The Sind Expedition, A.H. 1151-1152 (1739)
— The Campaign against Bokhara, a.h. 1153 (1740) — The
Conquest of Khiva, a.h. 1153 (1740) — Nadir Shah at the Zenith
of his Power.

CHAPTER LXXII

The Last Years of Nadir Shah . . . 360

The Lesghian Campaign, 1 741-1742 — The Blinding of Riza
Kuli Mirza — Rebellions in Persia, 1 743-1 744 — The Last Cam-
paign against Turkey, 1 743-1 745 — The Pioneer Journeys of
Elton, 1739-1742 — The Adventures of Jonas Hanway, 1743 — The
Closing of British Trade across the Caspian, 1746 — The Naval
Ambitions of Nadir Shah — The Assassination of Nadir Shah, a.h.
1 1 60 (1747) — His Character.

CHAPTER LXXIII

The Short-lived Zand Dynasty . . . -370

Ahmad Khan, Durrani — Adil Shah, a.h. ii 60-1 161 (1747-
1748) — Shah Rukh — The Origin of the Kajar Tribe — Mohamed
Husayn Khan, Kajar — Azad the Afghan and Mardan Ali Khan,
Bakhtiari — Karim Khan, Zand — The Triangular Contest for Povs^er
— The Final Campaign, a.h. 1171 (1757) — The Reign of Karim
Khan, a.h. 11 63-1 193 (i 750-1 779) — The Occupation of Kharak
by the Dutch — The Foundation of the English Factory at Bushire,
A.D. 1763 — The Expedition against Basra, a.h. ii 89-1 190 (1775-
1776)— Zaki Khan— Abul Fatteh, Ali Murad, and Sadik— The
Reign of Ali Murad, a.h. 1196-1199 (1782-1785) — Jafar, a.h.
1199-1203 (1785-1789)— The Accession of Lutf Ali Khan— The
Expedition of Lutf Ali against Kerman, a.h. 1205 (1790) — f^^ji
Ibrahim— His Successful Plot— The Campaigns of Lutf Ali Khan
against Aga Mohamed— The Final Act of the Drama, a.h. 1208
(1794)— The Fateof Kerman— The Downfall of the Zand Dynasty.

CONTENTS XV

CHAPTER LXXIV

PAGE

The Founding of the Kajar Dynasty . . • 3^5

Aga Mohamed Khan, Kajar — The Expulsion of a Russian
Expedition by Aga Mohamed, a.d. 1781 — The Independent Pro-
vinces of Persia — The Neighbouring States — The Invasion of
Georgia, a.h. 1209 (1795) — The Coronation of Aga Mohamed
Khan, a.h. 1210 (1796) — The Reduction of Khorasan, a.h. 1210
(1796) — The Russian Invasion, a.h. 1210 (1796) — The Assassina-
tion of Aga Mohamed Khan, a.h. 12 ii (1797) — His Character —
The Accession of Fath Ali Shah — Various Pretenders.

CHAPTER LXXV

British and French Missions at the Court of Fath Ali Shah 395

The Afghan Question — The Mission of Mehdi Ali Khan, 1799
— The French Peril to India — Malcolm's First Mission, 1800 —
The Persian Embassy to India, 1802 — The Downfall of Haji
Ibrahim — The Second Rebellion of Husayn Kuli Khan — The
Execution of Nadir Mir^a, a.h. 12 16 (1802) — The Expulsion of
the Afghans from Narmashir and Sistan — French Overtures to
Persia, 1 802-1 804 — The First French Mission, 1805 — The Treaty
of Finkenstein, 1807 — The Gardanne Mission, 1 807-1 808 — The
Fight for Povv^er in Afghanistan, 1 799-1 808 — Malcolm's Second
Mission, 1808 — The Mission of Sir Harford Jones, 1808-1809 —
Malcolm's Third Mission, 18 10 — The Embassy of Haji Mirz.a
Abul Hasan Khan, 1809-1810 — The Appointment of Sir Gore
Ousely, 18 II — The Definitive Treaty, 18 14.

CHAPTER LXXVI

The Disastrous Campaigns with Russia . . .410

The Annexation of Georgia by Russia, 1800 — The Two
Campaigns against Russia — The Persian Army under Abbas Mir%a

The Erivan Campaign, 1804 — The Russian Descent on Gilan —

The Battle of Aslanduz, 1812 — The Treaty of Gulistan, 1813 —
Risings in Persia — The Embassy of General Yermeloff, 18 17 —
Afghan Campaigns, 1805 and 18 17-18 18 — Hostilities with Turkey,
a.h. 1236-1238 (i 821-1823) — The Dispute about Gokcha and its
Seizure by Russia, 1825 — Initial Persian Successes — The Battle of
Shamkar— The Battle of Ganja, 26th September 1826 — The
Avarice of Fath Ali Shah— The Capture of Erivan, 1827— The
Surrender of Tabriz, 1827— The Treaty of Turkomanchai, 1828

The Modification of the Definitive Treaty with Great Britain —

The Murder of M. Grebaiodov, 1828.

xvi HISTORY OF PERSIA

CHAPTER LXXVII

PAGE

Persian Aggression on Afghanistan . . . '4^3

The Trend of Persian Policy, 1832-18 5 7— The Campaign of
Abbas Mirza in Khorasan, 1832— Anglo-Russian Antagonism in
Central Asia — The Siege of Herat and the Death of Abbas Mir%a,
1833 — The Death of Fath AH Shah, 1834— The Accession of
Mohamed Shah, 1834 — The Second British Military Mission —
Haji Mirza Aghasi — The Afghan Policy of Mohamed Shah — The
Rise of Dost Mohamed — The Burnes Mission — The Promises
of Vitkavich— The Second Siege of Herat, 1837-1838— The First
Afghan War, 1838-1842 — The British Mission to Herat, 1839-
184 1 — The Settlement with Persia — The Rebellion of Aga Khan,
1 840-1 841 — Perso-Turkish Relations, 1 842-1 843 — The Death of
Mohamed Shah, 1848.

CHAPTER LXXVIII

The Final Settlement of the Perso-Afghan Question . 441

The Accession of Nasir-u-Din, 1848 — Mirza Taki Khan,
Amir-i-Nizam — The Rebellion of the Salar — The Bab — His
Doctrines — The Fortunes of the Babis — Babi Plots and Risings,
1 850-1 8 52 — Foundation of the Russian Naval Station at Ashurada,
1840 — The Fall of the Amir-i-Nizam, 185 1 — The Herat Question,
1 851-1853 — Russian Negotiations with Persia, 1853-1855 — The
Breach with Great Britain, 1855 — The Anglo-Afghan Alliance,
1855 — The Change of Rulers at Herat, 1855 — The Occupation of
Herat by Persia, 1856 — The Second British Treaty with Dost
Mohamed, 1857 — British Operations against Persia, 1 856-1 857 —
The Conclusion of Peace, 1857 — The New Ruler of Herat — The
Assertion of Persian Authority on the Persian Gulf Littoral.

CHAPTER LXXIX

The Envelopment of Persia . . , . -458

The Advance of Russia in Central Asia — The First Khivan
Expedition, 1839-1840 — The Russian Advance to the Sea of Aral,
1847— The Occupation of the Valley of the Sir Darya, 1849-1864
—Russian Relations with Bokhara, 1842-18 68— The Conquest of
Khiva, 1873— Persian Campaigns against the Turkoman, 1857-
1860— The Crushing of the Turkoman by Russia, 188 1— The
Effect on Persia— The Capture of Herat by Dost Mohamed, 1863
— The Makran Boundary Commission, 1870-1 871 — The Sistan
Question. The First Phase, 1863-1870— The Sistan Arbitration
Commission, 1872— The Perso - Baluch Boundary Commission,

1896 — The Second Sistan Arbitration Commission, 1903-1905

The Perso-Turkish Boundary — Summary.

CONTENTS xvii

CHAPTER LXXX

PAGE

The Awakening of Persia . . . . -472

The Question of Telegraphic Communication between England
and India— The First Telegraph Line in Persia, 1864— The Indo-
European Telegraph Lines — Their Influence on Persia — The
Cossack Brigade — The Reuter Concession, 1872 — The Opening
of the Karun, 1888— The Imperial Bank of Persia, 1889— The
Tobacco Regie, 1890-1892 — The Assassination of Nasir-u-Din —
The Financial Difficulties of Muzaffar-u-Din — The Russian Bank —
Persian Loans — The Belgian Customs Administration — The New
Customs Tariff— An Analysis of the New Tariff— The Action of
the British Government — Ali Asghar Khan, the Atabeg-i-Aazam
— Anglo-Russian Rivalry.

CHAPTER LXXXI

The State of Persia before the Revolution. . .487

The Old Order and the New — The Powers of the Shah —
His Duties — The Grand Vizier — The Machinery of Government
— Justice — Punishments — Revenue — Taxation — A Persian Village
— A Persian Peasant — The Tribesmen.

CHAPTER LXXXH

The Grant of a Constitution to Persia . . . 500

The Origin of the Constitutional Movement — Sayyid Jamal-u-
Din — Prince Malkom Khan — The Ayn-u-Dola — The Visit to
England of Muzaffar-u-Din, 1902 — The Condition of Persia
before the Revolution — The First Bast, December 1905 — The
Exodus to Kum, 1906 — The Great Bast in the British Legation,
August, 1906 — The Magna Charta of Persia — The Regulations
for the Assembly — The Opening of the National Assembly,
October, 1906 — The Signing of the Constitution — The New Order.

LIST OF AUTHORITIES . . . . .513

INDEX ... . 519

Abaga.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Mohamed

Shah Abbas the Great .
The Kaaba

Mohamed and the Black Stone
The Angel Gabriel appearing to
Mohamed (?) preaching
AH slays Marhab of Khaybar
The Ruins of Rei
The Pulpit of the Mahdi
The Gurgan Defile
Timuri Nomads

The Imam Riza and the Hunter
Meshed, the Sacred City of Persia
The Gunbad-i-Kabus .
Kurds migrating into Darragaz, the Medieval Abivard
Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar
The Shrine of Hazrat-i-Sultan, Darragaz
The Site of Firdausi's Tomb
Faz, the Birthplace of Firdausi .
The Tomb of Omar Khayyam ,

Shirin and Farhad .....

A Nomad of the Period of Chenghiz Khan
Kara Khitan, slightly before the Period of Chenghiz Khan
The Walls of Tus .....

The Siege of Baghdad by Hulagu Khan
Tabriz .

A Bridge over the Zab
Stone Pulpit at Sirjan
Tamerlane

The Ruins of Zahidan
The College of Shir Dar at Samarcand .

xix

FACE PAGE

Frontispiece

• H

. 36

• 42

• 54

. 64

• 72

■ 74

- 92

. 100

124

126

134

136

138

140

146

148

170

174

182

190

194

198

202

210

HISTORY OF PERSIA

At the Door of Tamerlane's Tomb

The Tomb of Tamerlane

A Sortie from Samarcand

The Blue Mosque at Tabriz

Baber on his Throne

The Tomb of Hafiz

The Tomb of Khudabanda at Sultania

The Shrine of Shah Namat Ulla

Ruins of a Palace at Sultania

Shah Ismail killing the Aga of the Janissaries

Shah Tahmasp entertaining the Emperor Humayun

A Kurdish Village ....

The Portuguese Fort at Hormuz

Bandar Abbas ...

The Palace at Ashraff ....

Shah Tahmasp entertaining Abdul Mohamed, Khan

Uzbegs ...
The Masjid-i-Shah, Isfahan
The Chahar Bagh at Isfahan
A Persian Garden Carpet
The Bridge of Allah Verdi Khan
The College of Shah Sultan Husayn, Isfahan ,
Mosul .

In the Kurdistan Mountains
The Musalla at Meshed
The Chehel Sutun
Isfahan from the North
Maydan-i-Mir Chakmak, Yezd
Hamadan with Mount Alvand in the Background
Kupkan, the Home of Imam Kuli
A Chapashlu Tribesman of Darragaz
Nadir Shah .....
A Typical Hill Village on the Perso-Afghan Frontier
A Bakhtiari Chief ....

Nadir Shah attacking Mohamed Shah
The Treasure House of Nadir Shah
Jonas Hanway and the Columns of Skulls near Astrabad
A Bridge across the River Karun
Karim Khan, Zand ....
Shiraz from the Garden of the Imperial Bank of Persia
Lutf Ali Khan .....
Kerman : the Masjid Gate
Turbat-i-Haydari ....

of the

FACE PAGE
212

214

218

220

222
232
236
238
244
246
248
258
272
280
282

286
286
288
290
292
294
298
300
302
316

326
328
340

346
348

350

354-
358
364

372

374
376
380
382

388

ILLUSTRATIONS

XXI

The Hall of Audience, Astrabad

Aga Mohamed Shah

Path AH Shah .

A Typical Kurdish Village

Christian Tribesmen in Kurdistan

A Shrine at Kumishah .

Herat Citadel from the City

The Shrine of Khoja Rabi

Abdul Baha

Mohamera from the River Karun

Mohamed Geldi Khan, Chief of the Goklan

Women
Weaving at Neh (close to Sistan)
Rafts on the Sistan Lake
H.I.M. Nasir-u-Din

Kurd Boy burning Rue to avert the Evil Eye
The Stone Lion at Meshed
In the Meshed Bazaar .
Ploughing in the Nishapur Valley
H.H. the Farman Parma
A Gorge in the Bakhtiari Country

FACE PAGE

Turkom

an.

and

390

398

412

416

428

432

444
446

454

464
466
468
476
484
488
492
496
504
508

MOHAMBD SmAYOANI.

MAPS

Vol. I

FACE I'AGE

To illustrate Persian Invasions of Hellas. (From Herodotus, \o\.

ii., by Reginald Walter Macan, D.Litt.) . . .150

The Empire of Alexander the Great. (From A History of

Greece, by Professor J. B. Bury) . . . .252

Eastern Turkey in Asia, Syria, and Western Persia. (By per-
mission of the Royal Geographical Society) . In pocket

Vol. ir

To illustrate the Rise of Islam .... 2

The Provinces of the Abbasid Caliphate. (From Lands of the

Eastern Caliphate, by G. Le Strange) . . .62

Central Asia ....... 84

Persia. (By kind permission of the Government of India) In pocket

xxu

The Opening Suiia of the Koran.

CHAPTER XLIV

THE CAREER OF MOHAMED AT MECCA

Praise be to God, the Lord of creation,

The most merciful, the most compassionate !

Ruler of the day of Reckoning !

Thee we worship, and invoke for help.

Lead us in the straight path ;

The path of those towards whom Thou hast been gracious ;

Not of those against whom Thy wrath is kindled, or that walk in error.

T/ie Fatiha or Opening Sura of the Koran.

A Description of Arabia. — The rise of Islam ^ was an
event of such overwhelming importance to Persia that,
although some of its results have been referred to in the
previous chapter, it seems advisable to deal with it in a
connected way from the beginning.^

The peninsula of Arabia, with an area four times as
large as France, has a central tableland termed Nejd,

^ Islam signifies "Submission to the will of God." A follower of the religion is
termed a Mussulman, Muslim, or Moslem, the second form being the participle of
Islam. The term " Mohamedan " is not usually applied by Moslems to themselves,
except so far as it has been adopted owing to European influence,

" Among the authorities consulted are The Caliphate and also The Life of Mahomet,
by sir William Muir ; Geschichte der ChaUfen (4 vols.), by Dr. Gustave Weil j A
Literary History of the Arabs, by R. A. Nicholson j and Arabia, the Cradle of Islam, by
Rev. S. M. Zwemer.

VOL. II I B

2 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

which covers one-half of the peninsula and averages some
3000 feet in altitude. Round this in every direction,
and especially to the south, lie deserts. Beyond these
wastes stretch chains of mountains, for the most part low
and barren, but in Oman to the east and in the Yemen
to the west attaining considerable elevation. The coast
line of Arabia, backed by an unbroken mountain barrier,
extends down the Red Sea to the Straits of Bab-ul- Mandeb,
or " Gate of Tears," thence in an east-north-easterly direc-
tion to Ras-ul-Hadd, and so round to the Persian Gulf,
a total distance of four thousand miles, in which hardly
a single good natural harbour or inlet is to be found. The
peninsula is therefore difficult of access from every quarter,
a fact recognized by its inhabitants, who call it Jazirat-ul-
Arab^ or "the Island of the Arabs.'' Nor are its internal
communications good ; for the great desert, the Rub-al-
Khali^ or " Solitary Quarter," has, from time immemorial,
divided the country, separating the north from the south.
It is in consequence, perhaps, of this natural barrier that
we find at an early period the rude nomads of the north
speaking Arabic and the more civihzed inhabitants of
Yemen and the south Himyarite, a tongue which died
out before the sixth century of our era, leaving Arabic
supreme.

In the physical geography of Persia we noted the
remarkable fact that between the Indus and the Shatt-ul-
Arab no river of any importance reaches the sea. Persia
is a country of riverless desert, with a rainfall of less than
ten inches in the north and perhaps five inches in the
south ; but Arabia is less favoured still. There also
desert is the salient feature, and no rivers are to be
found ; but both in its deserts and in its lack of water
Arabia is more " intense," to use the geographical term,
than neighbouring Iran.

The Importance of Mecca, — On the trade with the
East, rather than upon any local products, depended the
prosperity of Arabia. Even as far back as the tenth
century B.C. the spices, peacocks, and apes of India were
brought by ship to the coast of Oman. From the Hadra-
maut, the province lying opposite India, the caravan route

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xLiv CAREER OF MOHAMED AT MECCA 3

ran to Marib, the capital of the Sabaean kingdom, and
thence by way of Mecca and Petra to Gaza. A glance at
the map will show how Mecca, which lay about half-way
between the Hadramaut and Petra, must have benefited
by this land commerce, and explain why it became a
centre of population and a resort of merchants.

The importance of this trade is shown in the book of
Ezekiel, in which the prophet refers as follows to the
riches of Tyre : ^ " Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar,
they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats :
in these were they thy merchants. The merchants of
Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants : they
occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with
all precious stones, and gold. Haran, and Canneh, and
Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad,
were thy merchants."

This quotation from a Jewish prophet, who is known
to have been sent into captivity by the orders of Nebu-
chadnezzar in 599 B.C., sufficiently attests the ancient im-
portance of this trade, and it is of special interest to find
that Aden, the Eden of Ezekiel, was known by the same
name more than two thousand years before it was annexed
by Great Britain. It was probably in the first century of
the Christian era that the Indian trade began to pass by
water through the Bab-ul-Mandeb and up the Red Sea,
with the result that the caravan routes were gradually
deserted and the erstwhile thriving cities dwindled and
waned.

The Ancient Religion of the Arabs, — Muir, our great
authority,^ believes that the religious rites practised at
Mecca can be traced to the Yemen, of which district its
earliest inhabitants were probably natives. They brought
with them the system of Sabeanism, which implied belief
in one God coupled with worship of the heavenly bodies.
To-day the survivors of the sect, many of whom live in
the neighbourhood of Basra and Mohamera, are mis-
named " Christians of St. John the Baptist " by travellers,
although they speak of themselves as Mandeans. They

^ Chap, xxvii. 21-23.

2 T have not gone into the sources of the biography of Mohamed, but would refer
the student to chap. i. of Muir's work.

4 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

practise baptism and ceremonial ablutions, hold the book
of Psalms to be sacred, and adore especially the north
star.^ Edwin Arnold has expressed the debt due to
Sabeanism in the following words : " Islam was born in
the desert, with Arab Sabeanism for its mother and
Judaism for its father ; its foster-nurse was Eastern
Christianity." There is much truth in this view.

The ancient Arabians had seven temples, dedicated to
the seven planets. They also worshipped goddesses,
three of whom are mentioned in the Koran under the
names of Mat, the special idol of Mecca ; Al-Uzza,^ the
planet Venus ; and Mana, a sacred stone. There was also
an idol for every day of the year in the temple at Mecca.

The Kaaba. — The centre of worship at Mecca was the
Kaaba.^ This sacred temple contained, embedded in the
eastern corner, a reddish-black stone, which is believed to
be a meteorite ; it is semicircular in shape and very small,
measuring only some six inches by eight. This was
reverently kissed by pilgrims, who made seven circuits
round the sacred building. In the case of the " Lesser
Pilgrimage " it was also necessary to walk seven times
between the hills of Safa and Marwa ; and in the " Greater
Pilgrimage " Arafat, a small hill to the east of Mecca, had
to be visited, stones had to be cast against the Evil One
in the Mina valley, and the pilgrimage concluded by the
sacrifice of victims. The strength of Jewish influence
accounts for the reputed connexion of this pre-Moslem
ritual with Abraham ; the deserted Ishmael is believed to
have discovered the sacred well Zemzem by kicking the
ground, and it was Abraham and Isaac who -built the
Kaaba and instituted the pilgrimage.

The Ancestors of the Prophet Mohamed. — Among the
Arabs birth was of the first importance, and consequently
a brief account must be given of Mohamed's ancestry and
tribe. Towards the middle of the fifth century a certain

■^ Vide Zwemer's Arabia^ the Cradle of Islam^ chap, xxviii., for an interesting account
of the modern Sabeans. The Arabs gave them the name of Al-Maghtasila^ or " The
Washers," from their ceremonial ablutions, and this, being misunderstood by the Portu-
guese, gave rise to the misnomer mentioned above.

^ It was in honour of this goddess that Mundhir, the Saracen Prince of Hira, sacri-
ficed 400 nuns, as mentioned in Chapter XXXIX,

^ The word signifies a cube.

THl^ KAAr^,A
(From a Persian i\IS. in the British Museum.)

xLiv CAREER OF MOHAMED AT MECCA 5

Kussal, chief of the Kureish^ tribe, was the ruler of Mecca,
and he gathered into the city his fellow-tribesmen. Apart
from the civil rights which conferred on him leadership in
war and jurisdiction in peace, Kussai held the keys of the
Kaaba, which gave him the prerogative of providing water
for the pilgrims. After his death and that of his eldest
son a feud broke out among his descendants. The elder
branch refused to share any of their privileges with the
younger, and for a while it seemed Hkely that the dispute
would be settled by the sword. The supporters of the
elder branch dipped their hands into a bowl of blood and
invoked the aid of the gods, and Hashim, the leader of
the younger, also swore an oath with much circumstance.
Ultimately it was decided that the custody of the keys
and the right of raising the war banner should be re-
tained by the elder branch, but that the younger should
provide the pilgrims with water and food.

As the years went by, Hashim, a striking personality,
acquired a great reputation for generous hospitality, and
in consequence he was envied by his nephew Omayya,
who in vain attempted to rival him. At length Omayya
challenged his uncle to a trial before a judge, who was to
pronounce upon the question of personal merit. Hashim
was forced by tribal opinion to take up the challenge, but
on the condition, demanded by him, that the loser should
pay fifty black-eyed camels and leave Mecca for ten years.
The decision was given in his favour, and Omayya quitted
Mecca for Syria, after handing over the fifty camels, which
were slaughtered to make a feast. The incident is of im-
portance, because from it dates the rivalry between the
Omayyad and Hashimite factions, a rivalry destined to
bear baleful fruit. About a.d. 500 Hashim in mature
age married an heiress of Medina, and from this mar-
riage a son, Shiba, was born. Hashim died in a.d. 510,
and his prerogatives passed to his elder brother Al-Mut-
talib, who continued the family tradition of open-handed
hospitality.

Shiba was allowed to live for some years at Medina,

1 Kureish is believed to be derived from a word signifying a "highly-bred camel."
If this be correct, it is a curious coincidence that Zoroaster's name is supposed to have
an almost similar meaning. Vide Chapter IX.

6 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

but at last his uncle brought him to Mecca, where he was
at first mistaken for a slave and called Abdul Muttalib,
or " The Slave of Muttalib," a sobriquet which stuck to
him through life. A family quarrel concerning property-
was decided in his favour on the arrival of eighty of his
maternal relatives from Medina, and when Al-MuttaHb
died he succeeded to his dignities. For some time his
influence was slight, as he had only one son ; but one day
he was so fortunate as to rediscover the site of the sacred
well of Zemzem, which had existed, as we have seen,
in ancient times. The possession of this well at once
gave its owner immense power in thirsty Mecca, and with
the birth of other sons his prestige became as great as that
of his father. But he had made a rash vow that, if granted
ten sons, he would sacrifice one of them to the Fates.
When the number was reached lots were cast and fell on
AbduUa, the youngest. As the father was preparing to
fulfil his dreadful oath, he was persuaded to cast lots
between the boy and ten camels, which represented the
blood fine for a man's life. Nine times the lot fell upon
the boy, but at the tenth throw it fell at last on the camels.
They were slaughtered to the number of one hundred
and given to the inhabitants of Mecca.

Abdulla, who was thus saved from death, upon reach-
ing the age of twenty-four, was married by his father to a
relative, Amina ^ by name. Directly after the marriage he
started on a trading expedition to Syria. On his return
he died at Medina, and on the 20th of August, a.d. 570,
his widow gave birth to a son, who was Mohamed ^ the
Prophet.

The Political Situation in Arabia before and after the
Birth of the Prophet. — Among the earliest foreign rela-
tions of the Kureish tribe which have been recorded is
a so-called treaty concluded by Hashim with the Ghas-
sanide prince, a Christianized Arab Shaykh, whose capital,
Bostra, lay to the east of the Jordan. Hashim is also
said to have received a rescript from the Emperor allow-
ing the Kureish to travel in Syria, but in all probability it

1 Amina is the feminine form of Amin^ signifying " trustworthy." The name of the
Prophet is more correctly written Muhammad. The word signifies " The Praised."

xLiv CAREER OF MOHAMED AT MECCA 7

was the local representative of the Emperor who signed
the document.

In Chapter XL. reference has been made to the in-
vasion and occupation of the Yemen by the Abyssinians,
whose capital at that period was Axum, near the Red Sea
littoral. In a.d. 570, the year of the Prophet's birth,
Abraha,-^ the capable Abyssinian Viceroy, marched on
Mecca, ostensibly to avenge an insult offered to the
church at Sana, but probably intending to destroy the
Kaaba from political motives. Brushing aside all oppo-
sition, he reached Tayif, three stages east of the Sacred
City. Thence he despatched raiding parties which cap-
tured, among other live stock, two hundred camels
belonging to Abdul Muttalib. Following with his
main body, which included that portentous monster an
elephant, he halted outside Mecca and sent envoys to
inform the panic-stricken Arabs that he had no desire
to injure them but was determined to destroy the
Kaaba. Abdul Muttalib proceeded to the camp of the
enemy to treat with Abraha, who restored his camels
but would not be turned from his purpose.

The legend runs that Abdul Muttalib would only
ask for his camels, and in reply to a contemptuous
remark fS-om Abraha retorted that the Kaaba needed
no human defender. On the fateful day the elephant
refused to advance, and the failure of the expedition is
commemorated in the following verses from the Koran :
" Hast thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with the army
of the Elephant ? Did he not cause their stratagem to
miscarry ? And he sent against them flocks of little
birds which cast upon them small clay stones, and made
them like unto the stubble of which the cattle have eaten."
The passage is a glorified description of an epidemic of
small-pox — also termed " small stones '' in Arabic — which
is historical. The Abyssinian army retreated, and Abraha
died at Sana of the foul disease. The news that the Kaaba
had been protected by divine intervention must have
spread far and wide, and greatly enhanced both the
sanctity of the Shrine and the prestige of the Kureish.

1 Abraha is the Abyssinian form of Ibrahim or Abraham.

8 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Upon the death of Abraha his son Yaksum held
the viceroyalty for only four years, to be succeeded by
Masruk. It was during Masruk's reign that the famous
expedition was despatched by Noshirwan, which resulted
in the expulsion of the Abyssinians and the reinstate-
ment of the old Himyarite monarchs under the suzerainty
of the Great King. Tabari/ who is the authority for
this campaign, states that Saif, upon his accession to the
throne, was visited by Abdul Muttalib, who is known
to have died in a.d. 578. Consequently the date of this
campaign must have been between a.d. 574 and a.d. 578.

The Childhood^ Touth^ and Early Manhood of Mohamed.
— The prospects of the infant Mohamed were not bright.
His father was dead and his entire property consisted of
a slave girl, five camels, some goats, and a house. At
the same time he possessed powerful relations. In
accordance with custom, the infant was entrusted to a
nomad woman, Halima of the Beni Sad, and among the
free sons of the desert Mohamed remained until he was
six years old. His constitution benefited by the open-
air life, although apparently he was subject to epileptic
fits. Moreover, the Beni Sad were held to speak the
purest Arabic, and the Prophet in after years used to
boast, "Verily, I am the most perfect Arab amongst
you ; my descent is from the Kureish, and my tongue
is the tongue of the Beni Sad." Among a people who
counted eloquence as the highest of gifts, this upbringing
was of great advantage. It is to the credit of Mohamed
that he never forgot his foster-mother, and always treated
her and her family with generosity and kindness. In his
sixth year the lad was taken back to Medina, and when he
returned there forty-seven years afterwards he was able to
identify the house and to recall the details of the life he
had led in it.

Amina shortly afterwards decided to take the child
to Mecca, but died on the road. The orphan was most
kindly treated by his grandfather until his own death,
which occurred when Mohamed was eight years old.
With this event the Hashimite branch of the family

^ Vol. ii. pp. 203 ff.

xLiv CAREER OF MOHAMED AT MECCA 9

suffered a loss of prestige and influence which accrued to
the Omayyad section instead, and remained with it until
the conquest of Mecca by the Prophet.

Abu Talib, the uncle to whom the orphan had been
entrusted, treated him with the utmost affection, a fact
which seems to indicate that the boy possessed attractive
qualities. When only twelve years old he was taken by
his guardian on a caravan journey to Syria, which must
have enlarged the horizon of his experience.

At the annual fair held at Ocatz, to the east of Mecca,
his young mind was doubtless influenced by listening
to the contests in poetry among bards of the various
tribes. There he would also hear Jewish and Christian
preachers. About this period, during the time of the
fair, a blood feud arose through the murder of a chief
of the Hawazin by a rival, who had .a confederate
among the Kureish. This occasioned several desperate
skirmishes, at one of which the Prophet was present ;
but he did not distinguish himself. Indeed, at no time
in his career did he display martial qualities.

Apart from these skirmishes, dignified by the name
of the Sacrilegious War, the Prophet spent his youth
as a shepherd, a mean occupation which usually fell to
the lot of slaves. In after years he said, " Verily there
hath been no prophet raised up, who performed not
the work of a shepherd." He must have been held in
esteem at Mecca, since it is recorded that he was termed
Al-Amin or « The Faithful."

But for the poverty of Abu Talib, it is possible that
Mohamed would have continued to lead a shepherd's
life, which suited his reserved and meditative nature.
But at the age of twenty-five necessity drove him to
Syria in part charge of a caravan belonging to Khadija,
a wealthy widow of the Kureish. At Bostra he bartered
his goods successfully, and upon his return Khadija fell
in love with the handsome youth, and married him after
obtaining her father's consent by a ruse. The marriage
was happy and Mohamed lived contentedly with Khadija,
although his two sons both died. It appears that, while
continuing to manage her own affairs as before, she

lo HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

admired her husband's qualities and realized that he was

no ordinary man.

Time passed, and when Mohamed was about thirty-
five years of age the Kaaba was rebuilt. Each of the
four divisions of the Kureish took charge of a wall, and
when the structure had risen 4 or 5 feet above the
ground, the Black Stone had to be built once again into
the east corner. The question who should have the
honour of placing the stone into position led to heated
debate until an aged citizen suggested that the first
man to arrive on the spot should be asked to decide.
By chance Mohamed came up, and, being informed of
the case, placed the stone on his cloak and called on
each chief to raise a corner of it. Thus the stone was
borne into the new temple, where the hands of Mohamed
set it in position. He may well have thought that his
opportune arrival was divinely ordained. As mentioned
in Chapter XLII., the batde of Zu-Kar was fought between
A.D. 604 and 611. Mohamed, who followed such events
with the keenest interest, upon hearing of the victory of
the Arabs, is said to have exclaimed, " This is the first
day whereon the Arabs have obtained satisfaction from
the Persians ; through me have they obtained help ! "
Little that is worthy of note has been recorded of this
period. Mohamed, relieved of all worldly cares and
surrounded by a few faithful friends and kinsmen, was
able to devote himself to contemplation and prayer, and
it is related that, like other Prophets, he frequently went
into the desert to meditate.

The Divine Commission conveyed by Gabriel. — Muir*s
work is nowhere more masterly than in his analysis of
the steps which led Mohamed to proclaim himself the
Prophet of God. " He was seated or wandering amidst
the peaks of Hira, buried no doubt in reveries, when
suddenly an apparition rose before him. The heavenly
Visitant stood clear and close beside him in a vision. It
was no other than Gabriel,^ the Messenger of God, who now
appeared in the sky, and, approaching within * two bows*
length,' brought from his Master this memorable behest :

^ Muir considers that Mohamed confused Gabriel with the Holy Ghost.

U
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^
%

Q -E

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xLiv CAREER OF MOHAMED AT MECCA ii

Recite in the name of the Lord who created, —
Created Man from nought but congealed blood ; —
Recite ! for thy Lord is beneficent.
It is He who hath taught (to write) with the pen ; —
Hath taught man that which he knoweth not."^ . . .

The Assumption of the Prophetical Office^ a.d. 613-614.
— In A.D. 613-614, the forty- fourth year of his life, we
find Mohamed proclaiming himself a divinely inspired
Prophet, sent by God to the people of Arabia. His
followers, though very few, were both honest and devoted.
Among them were Khadija, his wife, Zayd, his adopted
son, and Ali, son of AbuTalib, his cousin. Of far greater
weight was the adherence of Abu Bekr, a member of the
Kureish, a man of substance, and of the highest personal
character. Other converts included Sad, Othman, and
Abdur Rahman, who himself brought fcAir more con-
verts. Thus slowly during the three or four years which
followed the assumption of the prophetic office some forty
followers, all of them loyal to the core, threw in their
lot with Mohamed.

The behaviour of his fellow-citizens was such as might
have been expected. At first, having known Mohamed
from boyhood, they treated his claims with contempt, and
regarded him as a harmless visionary ; but gradually,
owing to their connexion with the Kaaba, these feelings
changed into open hostility, which showed itself in perse-
cution. This drew all the more attention to the doctrines
expounded by the Prophet, who was himself protected by
Abu Talib. Others, however, who had no protectors
were imprisoned or exposed to the glare of the sun or
ill-treated in other ways.

The Temporary Emigration to Abyssinia^ a.d. 615. —
So hot did the persecution become and so black the out-
look that Mohamed recommended his followers to seek a
temporary asylum in Christian Abyssinia, and in a.d. 615
a party of eleven men fled to the port of Shuayba, near
Jeddah, and thence reached Africa in safety.

The historical interview with the Negus is recorded

1 This, the ninety-sixth sura or chapter, was the starting-point of Islam, and
Mohamed himself used to refer to it as his first inspired utterance.

12 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, xliv

by Ibn Hisham/ and the narrative presents a truly remark-
able picture of early Islam. In reply to a question by the
Negus as to why the refugees, although separated from
their own people, entered not into the Christian religion,
the Moslem leader said, " O King ! We were a barbarous
folk, worshipping idols, eating carrion, committing shame-
ful deeds, violating the ties of consanguinity, and evilly
entreating our neighbours, the strong among us con-
suming the weak ; and thus we continued until God sent
unto us an Apostle from our midst, whose pedigree and
integrity and faithfulness and purity of life we knew, to
summon us to God, that we should declare His unity,
and worship Him, and put away the stones and idols
which we and our fathers used to worship in His stead ;
and he bade us be truthful in speech, and faithful in the
fulfilment of our trusts, and observing of the ties of con-
sanguinity and the duties of neighbours, and to refrain
from forbidden things and from blood ; and he forbade
immoral acts and deceitful words, and consuming the
property of orphans, and slandering virtuous women ;
and he commanded us to worship God, and to associate
naught else with Him, and to pray and give alms and
fast" Well might the Negus weep upon hearing this
exposition of faith, and exclaim, " Verily, this and that
which Moses brought emanate from one Lamp ! "

1 Ibn Hisham wrote the earliest biography of the Prophet about a.d. 828.

^•(•"c'ls- "V ^

Quotation from the Koran.
(From a MS. in the British Museum.)

CHAPTER XLV

THE FLIGHT TO MEDINA AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF

ISLAM

O true believers, take not my enemy and your enemy for your friends,
showing kindness toward them ; since they believe not in the truth which
hath come unto you, having expelled the apostle and yourselves from your
native city, because ye believe in God, your Lord. — T/ie Koran.

The Hijra^ or '' Flight^'' to Medina^ a.d. 622. — The
claims of Mohamed made but slow progress as the years
passed. The enmity of the Kureish was so intense that
for two or three years they placed the Hashimite section
of the tribe under a ban and refused to have any dealings
with them ; and the Prophet had the misfortune to lose
by death not only the faithful Khadija but also Abu Talib,
whose unswerving support of his nephew, although he
himself remained an idolater, affords a fine testimony to
the nobility of both.

Shortly after the death of Khadija, Mohamed attempted
to convert the men of neighbouring Tayif, but the mission
was a complete failure. He left the city, pursued by the
rabble, and returned to Mecca hopeless as to the future.
But brighter days were in store, for his teaching had made
so deep an impression on pilgrims from Medina that the

14 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

majority of its Arab inhabitants became converted to his
creed, and the Jews, who formed a large percentage of the
population, observed in amazement that the idols were
thrown down and that belief in one God was acknowledged.

An invitation to leave hostile Mecca for friendly-
Medina was given by a band of seventy leading citizens
at a secret meeting held near Mecca, and shortly after this
the Prophet's adherents began to migrate in small parties.
Mohamed and the faithful Abu Bekr remained until the
last. To put their enemies oiF the track they first hid in
a cave to the south of Mecca for a few days, and then, in
the fifty-third year of the Prophet's life, on June 20,
A.D. 622, the famous journey was begun. From this date
the Moslem era starts, the word Hijra^ incorrectly written
Hegira, signifying " Flight." No saying is truer than
that " a prophet is not without honour, but in his own
country, and among his own kin, and in his own house,"
and, had not Mohamed been strong enough to face the
odium of what the Arabs regarded as a deed of shame by
quitting his own people and proceeding to Medina, Islam
would in all probability have died with its Prophet, now
already in middle age.

The Erection of the First Mosque at Medina. — At
Medina he was received with honour and rejoicing, and
was pressed by various leading men to become their
guest. Unwilling to identify himself with any one tribe,
he courteously replied that where the camel sat down
there would he dwell. The beast stopped and sat down
in a large open courtyard in the eastern quarter of the
city. Mohamed purchased the land, and erected upon it
the first mosque, a square building of stone, brick, and
palm logs. The Kihla^ towards which the faithful prayed,
was Jerusalem. The Azan, or Call to Prayer, was now
instituted, running as follows : " Great is the Lord !
Great is the Lord ! I bear witness that there is no God
but the Lord : I bear witness that Mohamed is the
Prophet of God. Come unto prayer : Come unto Salva-
tion. God is Great ! God is Great ! There is no God
but the Lord ! " The traveller from the West to this
day finds nothing more solemn or more striking than to

a:
o

xLv THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ISLAM 15

be awakened in the early dawn by the beautiful cadence
of this call to prayer.

The Breach with the Jews. — In spite of the welcome
given to the Prophet and the support of his kinsmen,
he encountered not only local jealousies but the hostility
of the three tribes of Jews towards the new religion.
In token of his breach with these, he suddenly directed
the faithful to foUow his example and pray towards
Mecca. This reversal of custom was upon the whole
a politic stroke ; for, although it laid Mohamed open to
a charge of inconsistency, it must have gratified the people
of Arabia by preserving to Mecca its pre-eminence in the
ceremonial of the new faith.

The Battle of Badr^ a.h. 2 (623), and the Expulsion of
the Beni Kainucas. — For some six months after their arrival
at Medina the Muhajarin^ or " Refugees^" were busily
occupied in settling down, and in sending for their
families, whom the Kureish allowed to depart, although
they might well have kept them as hostages. Attacks
were then made on the Mecca caravans trading with
Syria, but at first without result. In the second year
of the Hijra^ however, a small caravan was captured on
the road between Mecca and Tayif, and a member of
the Kureish tribe was killed. Such was Mohamed's first
success.

He was soon to gain a greater victory, the results of
which all Moslem historians have rightly regarded as
marking a new era for the religion he taught. Hearing
that a rich caravan belonging to Mecca was on its way
back from Syria, the Prophet proceeded to Badr with
300 men hoping to intercept it. News, however, reached
Mecca, and the full force of the Kureish marched out to
the rescue. The caravan meanwhile escaped by travelling
off the main route, and the Prophet, upon reaching Badr,
learned that an army of 900 Kureish was encamped in
the neighbourhood. His enemies, upon learning that
the caravan was safe, were not anxious to fight with their
fellow-tribesmen ; but Mohamed, feeling that he must
win or retreat in disgrace, decided to attack. The battle,
as was customary, was preceded by single combats, in

1 6 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

which the Moslems were invariably successful, aiid in the
engagement which ensued they carried all before them,
the Kureish fleeing, after sustaining a loss of forty-nine
killed against fourteen on the other side. Among the
slain were some of Mohamed's leading enemies, and those
among the prisoners who were specially obnoxious to the
Moslems were butchered in cold blood. The remainder
were taken to Medina, where they were well treated until
ransomed. Of the rich spoil taken the Prophet reserved
one-fifth for himself, and divided the remainder equally.
The victory of Badr was a turning-point in Islam ; for if
the Prophet had returned to Medina a fugitive, his enemies
would probably have prevailed against him. As it was,
his success against a force of the Kureish three times as
strong as his own justified him before his followers in
ascribing the victory to divine aid. In the eighth sura
we read, " And ye slew them not, but God slew them."

The year after the battle of Badr Mohamed felt himself
strong enough to attack the Beni Kainucas, one of the
three tribes of Jews resident in Medina. The other two
made no attempt to come to the aid of their co-religionists,
and the unfortunate Beni Kainucas were forced by lack of
supplies to submit. The Prophet at first intended to
massacre all the men, but in the end they were permitted
to leave Medina after being stripped of their property.
As they were goldsmiths and armourers by occupation
their departure did not furnish landed property to the
Moslems.

The Battle of Ohod, a.h. 3 (625), and the Expulsion of
the Beni Nazir,— The career of the Prophet was not
without vicissitudes. In a.h. 3 (625) a Kureish force
3000 strong, burning to avenge the defeat at Badr,
attacked the Moslem army, which only mustered 1000
men, at Ohod, outside Medina. As at Badr, the Moslems
had the advantage in the single combats, but in the general
hand-to-hand contest which ensued, the superior numbers
of the Kureish won the day. Mohamed was wounded,
and but for his foresight in fighting with his back to
some crags, there might well have been an irretrievable
disaster. As it was, he lost seventy-four warriors, and his

xLv THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ISLAM 17

prestige was sensibly lowered. But his burning eloquence
gradually persuaded his followers that these reverses were
but to test them, and in the following year he strengthened
his position by driving out the second of the Jewish
tribes. The Beni Nazir were agriculturists, and when
they yielded and quitted Medina, the Prophet was able
to distribute rich lands and date-groves among his chief
supporters.

The Siege of Medina and the Massacre of the Beni
Koreitza^ a.h. 5 (627). — Two years after the battle of
Ohod a still larger army of the Kureish, 10,000 strong,
marched on Medina. There could be no thought of
meeting such an overwhelming force in the field ; so
by the advice of Salman, a Persian captive, Medina was
fortified. This unexpected artifice, held to be unworthy
of Arabs, entirely baffled the Kureish, who, after making
some unsuccessful assaults broke up camp and marched
oflF. Upon their retirement Mohamed massacred the Beni
Koreitza, the third Jewish tribe residing in Medina, which
had had dealings with the invaders, and his followers bene-
fited by the rich booty thus acquired. By the repulse of
the Kureish the disgrace of Ohod had been wiped out,
and the position of Mohamed, whose enemies, the Jews,
had disappeared from Medina, was now supreme in that
city.

The Truce of Hodeibia^ a.h. 6 (628). — The next im-
portant step taken by the Prophet was to attempt the
pilgrimage to Mecca. This was in the sixth year after
the Hijra^ and although the Kureish refused to permit
Mohamed and his followers to enter the Sacred City, a
truce was made, known as the Truce of Hodeibia, and it
was agreed that the pilgrims would be admitted in the
following year.

The Embassies sent by Mohamed^ a.h. 7 (628). — Few
events in the life of Mohamed are of greater interest than
the letters sent by him to Heraclius, to the Great King,
to the Governors of Yemen and of Egypt, and to the
King of Abyssinia. That to the Great King is said to
have run as follows : "In the name of God, the Merciful,
the Compassionate. From Mohamed, the Apostle of

VOL. II c

1 8 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

God to Khusru son of Hormuzd. But to proceed.
Verily I extol unto thee God, beside whom there is no
other God. O Khusru ! Submit and thou shalt be safe,
or else prepare to wage with God and with his Apostle
a war which shall not find them helpless ! Farewell ! "
According to the legend, the Great King tore up the
epistle, and the Prophet on hearing of it prayed, " Even
thus, O Lord ! rend Thou his kingdom from him ! "

The Conquest of Khayhar, a.h. 7 (628). — The conquest
of Khaybar, a rich district inhabited by Jews and situated
about one hundred miles north of Medina, was the next
exploit of the conquering Prophet. The Jews were
surprised and offered but little resistance after the death
of their champion Merhab, who was cut in two by Ali,
now the son-in-law of the Prophet, whose daughter
Fatima he had married. The theme is a popular one in
Persian art. The seizure of the land by Mohamed added
considerably to his resources, and the booty was very
rich. Moreover, he had now destroyed the last centre
of Judaism in the vicinity of Medina, and henceforward
there is little or no mention of the Jews.

The '-'•Fulfilled Pilgrimage^'' a.h. 7 (629). — Perhaps
there is no more extraordinary event in the history of
the Prophet than the " Fulfilled Pilgrimage." In accord-
ance with their agreement the Kureish vacated the city of
Mecca for three days, and Mohamed at the head of 2000
men performed the rites by encircling the sacred spot
seven times, riding seven times between Safa and Marwa,
and sacrificing the victims brought from Medina. On
the following day the azan was sounded, and Mohamed
led the service in the same manner as at Medina, while
the Kureish from the adjacent hills looked down with
wonder at the extraordinary spectacle. The pilgrimage
undoubtedly augmented the prestige of the Prophet, who
was shortly afterwards joined by Khali d, the great general,
and by other men of importance.

The Battle of Muta, a.h. 8 (629). — The raids from
Medina now extended to the borders of Syria, and so
great was the alarm inspired by Mohamed's activity that
at Muta, near the Dead Sea, his main force of 3000 men

xLv THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ISLAM 19

was opposed by the imperial troops. Charged by a
Roman phalanx supported by Arabs on either flank, Zayd,
the commander, and his successors were killed one by one,
and only the genius of Khalid saved the defeat from
becoming a disaster. As it was, the losses were heavy.

The Capture of Mecca^ a.h. 8 (630). — The defeat at
Muta cannot have shaken the prestige of the Prophet
very severely, since a few months later he crowned his
successful career by suddenly marching on Mecca at the
head of 10,000 men. No resistance was attempted, and
as he treated his fellow-tribesmen with magnanimity, they
became converts in large numbers. After superintending
the destruction of the idols in the sacred enclosure,
Mohamed gave orders for all private images to be broken.
This was effected without difficulty, and thus without a
single battle the sacred city of Mecca was won and with
it the hegemony of Arabia. This achievement was com-
pleted by the crushing of the Hawazin tribe which
occupied the country to the south-east of Mecca.

The Last Campaign of Mohamed^ a.h. 9 (630). — The
campaign of Tebuk was the last undertaken by the Prophet
in person. He heard that the Emperor was organizing
a large force, and with remarkable courage and energy
prepared to meet it. He assembled a powerful army,
said to have numbered 30,000, of which one-third was
cavalry, and marched to Tebuk, to the east of the Gulf of
Akaba. There he learned that there was no truth in the
rumours of invasion, and consequently directed his efforts
to extending and consolidating his power. The Christian
prince of Ayla, at the head of the Gulf of Akaba, sum-
moned to submit and pay tribute, immediately complied,
and with him a treaty was concluded. Duma was captured
by Khalid, and its Christian chief embraced Islam. After
these successes the Prophet returned home with greatly
increased prestige, and when Tayif, the last town to resist
him, surrendered, his power reached its zenith.

The Final Orders of the Prophet, — At the end of a.h. 9
(631) Mohamed promulgated at Mecca by the mouth of
Ali the famous " Release," allowing idolaters four months
in which to embrace Islam, and giving notice that in case

20 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

of refusal they would be crushed. To Jews and Christians,
as possessing revealed scriptures, slightly better terms were
announced. They were, however, to be reduced to tribute
and humbled. This proclamation was followed up by the
despatch of embassies to every part of Arabia, the whole
of which, including even distant Oman, submitted to the
now all-powerful Prophet, and embraced Islam.

The ^''Farewell Pilgrimage^'' a.h. io (630). — The
venerable Prophet was sixty-three years of age and full
of honour when he made what is known as the " Farewell
Pilgrimage." This set the seal on his success, and it is
impossible to follow him to it without sympathy and
appreciation of his achievements. His farewell to the
people of Mecca ends with the exclamation, " O Lord ! I
have delivered my message and discharged my Ministry."

The Death of Mohamed^ a.h. ii (632). — Shortly after
his return from Mecca, Mohamed was seized with fever,
and for some days suffered severely. One morning, as
Abu Bekr was leading the prayers, the congregation was
delighted by the appearance of the Prophet, who spoke to
the people after the service. But this was a last effort,
and the exhaustion it occasioned brought on his death.

His Character, — No impartial student surveying the
career and character of Mohamed can fail to acknowledge
his loftiness of purpose, his moral courage, his sincerity,
his simplicity, and his kindness. To these qualities must
be added unsparing energy and a genius for diplomacy.
Muir is well advised in distinguishing between the early
period of adversity and the later years in which success
and power were achieved ; for it was almost inevitable
that as the Prophet became the ruler of Arabia the worldly
side of his character should develop at the expense of
the spiritual. Instances of cruelty and treachery are
undoubtedly proved against him ; but it is always to be
borne in mind that in judging this extraordinary man we
must apply not the standard of our own time, but that
of a period and of a world in which cruelty was rife.
Like Solomon, whom he resembled in character, he became
uxorious in his old age, and for this characteristic also the
same allowance must be made. It is certain that he never

xLv THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ISLAM 21

lost the love and admiration of men of the highest
character, such as Abu Bekr and Omar, and to the end he
retained his simplicity, his kindliness, and his courtesy to
rich and poor alike. Moreover, he continued throughout
his career to proclaim himself " a simple prophet and a
Warner," though he might easily have made higher claims.

The introduction of Islam brought many benefits
to the Arabs. It taught the unity of God, enjoined
brotherly love towards all fellow -believers, proscribed
infanticide, secured rights for women and consideration
for slaves. Alcohol was strictly forbidden. Impartial
observers have told me that in India Islam has raised
millions of men in self-respect and other virtues to a
wonderful extent, and I have already shown how benefi-
cent was its eflFect upon the Arabs. In the case of the
Mongols the change was no less marked, as may be seen
by contrasting the savagery of Chengiz with the kind-
ness, the consideration, and the justice of Ghazan, whose
many virtues were undoubtedly due to his genuine con-
version to Islam. In Afi*ica, too, when the negro adopts
Islam he generally rises in the scale of humanity. While
remaining an African, he is better dressed, better mannered,
and altogether a better and cleaner man. On the other
hand, a negro when Christianized is sometimes unable to
assimilate our more complex civilization, and in such cases
becomes a caricature of the European. These remarks
apply to a certain extent to the Asiatic also, but in a lesser
degree, because the Semite and the Aryan start from
ancient civilizations of their own.

If, as I believe, religion is made for man and not man
for religion, it is impossible to withhold approval and
admiration from a man whose achievements have been so
great. But against these undoubted benefits of Islam
there are some things to be set on the other side. The
list includes polygamy, the seclusion and veiling of women,
slavery, narrowness of thought, and harsh treatment of
non-Moslems. As for polygamy, it is slowly dying out
owing to progress and economic circumstances, and the
veil too, with all that it stands for, is beginning to disappear
in Turkey. It must be recollected that even in Christian

22 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Spain the women are partially secluded, and perhaps

wisely.

We come to slavery. In Persia, at any rate, slaves are
kept only as domestic servants, and are particularly well
treated, being with reason trusted more than hired servants.
Can we, with a recollection of Hawkins, who bought
negroes in Africa to sell in America, throw stones at
slavery among Moslems ? I think not. Freedom of
thought and private judgment are gradually asserting
themselves among Moslems, just as among Roman
Catholics, however much the mullas in the one case
or the Pope in the other may deny these privileges.
Moreover, until quite modern times it has been the
general custom of man to persecute those from whom he
differed on religious grounds, and the Moslems certainly
have not treated Christians more harshly than the inquisi-
tors did. Toleration is, in fact, a sentiment of recent
growth.

If the lives of great men are studied, imperfections
are invariably revealed, and in many cases the greater the
man the more conspicuous the faults. Personally I hold
that Mohamed was, with all his human frailties, one of
the greatest of mankind ; that he was impelled by the
highest motives to beat down idolatry and fill its place
with the much higher conception of Islam, and that by so
doing he rendered an immense service to the human race,
a service to which I pay homage.

The Koran, — The scriptures of Islam, known as the
Koran,^ consist exclusively of the revelations which
Mohamed claimed to receive through Gabriel as messages
direct from God. These messages were received through-
out the twenty-three years of his prophetical life, and were
recited by Mohamed before his followers and committed
both to memory and to writing. In the stage of culture
which prevailed at that period in Arabia writing was a
rare accomplishment, and the general belief is that the
Prophet himself could neither read nor write ; memory
was therefore much stronger than among civilized races,

^ Koran signifies "reading aloud." The syllable Al which is occasionally prefixed
is the Arabic for the definite article.

xLv THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ISLAM 23

and during the lifetime of Mohamed many of his followers
had committed to memory the whole of the Koran. To-
day the title of Hafiz^ which implies this sacred accom-
plishment, is one of honour. But it must not be
supposed that during Mohamed's life the order of the
various chapters and verses was settled. Indeed we know
that this was not the case, for Omar, after the overthrow
of Moseilama, pointed out to Abu Bekr that the losses
among the reciters of the Koran had been heavy, and
suggested that its various portions should be collected.
This pious task was entrusted to Zayd, the Chief Secretary
of the Prophet, who sought out the fragments and
gathered them together, " from date-leaves, from tablets of
white stone and from the breasts of men." This was the
ojfficial and authoritative edition ; but a generation later,
under Othman, a second edition was prepared by a com-
mittee consisting of Zayd and three members of the
Kureish tribe. The original copy of the first edition was
produced for this purpose, and a final authoritative edition
was prepared, all existing copies being burned after its
issue. In consequence of this care, there is no question
whatever that the Koran, as read to-day all over the
Moslem world, is identical with that published during the
Caliphate of Othman. In the sequence of some of the
verses there is confusion, but throughout there is no
question as to the genuineness and accuracy of the verses.
When we consider the times in which they had their
origin this is extraordinary.

The Koran is universally admitted to be written in
the most perfect Arabic, the dialect of the Kureish tribe,
and it is held to be as much a masterpiece of literature as
we esteem our Bible to be. Moreover, the Koran is read
to-day exactly as it was dictated by Mohamed, whereas
we cannot deny that the Bible is a translation.

To enlarge upon the doctrine preached in the Koran
would be beyond the scope of this work. The one aim
and object of Mohamed in the Meccan suras was to
convert his fellow-countrymen from idolatry to the worship
of one God. To eflFect this, the Prophet, who deeply felt
his responsibility, extolled the omnipotence of God and

24 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, xlv

derided the impotence of the idols. The penalties of
hell and the pleasures of Paradise are graphically described,
and throughout, as Nicholson says, " his genius proclaims
itself by grand lyrical outbursts." As an example I quote
one of the early suras^ which runs :

When the Sky shall be severed,

And when the Stars shall be shivered,

And when the Seas to mingle shall be suffered,

And when the graves shall be uncovered —

A soul shall know that which it hath deferred or delivered.^

O Man, what beguiled thee against thy gracious Master to rebel.

Who created thee and fashioned thee right and thy frame did fairly

build ?
He composed thee in whatever form he willed.
Nay, but you disbelieve in the Ordeal ! ^
Verily over you are Recorders honourable,
Your deeds inscribing without fail.

To conclude, the revelations at Medina deal with
what may be termed the business side of religion ; laws,
ordinances, and manifestos all finding place side by side
with occasional but rare outbursts of flaming genius.
Yet behind it all were the call to monotheism and the
denunciation of idolatry, on which the Koran can claim,
and justly claim, to stand.

^ I.e. what it has done or left undone.
2 The Last Judgment.

i^-^'>w- ^1^6

♦ >

W&d^'^

1^1

Father of Hasan, Father of Dust, The Victorious Lion of Allah, The Commander
of the Faithful, Ali son of Abu Talib, on Him be Peace !

The Titles of Ali.
(Through the courtesy of H.E. the Persian Minister.)

CHAPTER XLVI

ISLAM UNDER THE FIRST FOUR CALIPHS

Politically Persia ceased for a while to enjoy a separate national existence,
being merged in that great Muhammadan Empire which stretched from
Gibraltar to the Jaxartes, but in the intellectual domain she soon began to
assert the supremacy to which the ability and subtlety of her people entitled
her. — Browne.

The Period of the Caliphate^ a.d. 632-1258. — The
Caliphate began with the election of Abu Bekr in a.d. 632
and lasted until a.d. 1258, when Hulagu Khan sacked
Baghdad and put Motasim Billah to death. For nearly
three centuries after this catastrophe the title of Caliph
was perpetuated in Egypt by descendants of the House
of Abbas who lived under the protection of its Mameluke
rulers, until in a.d. 1517 Sultan Selim, the Osmanli, having
conquered the Mameluke dynasty, induced the helpless
Caliph to transfer to him the title and insignia. It is
on this transaction (recorded in Chapter LXII.) that the
Sultans of Turkey base their claim to the sacred position
of Caliph and to other high titles.

The Caliphate falls into three well-defined periods :

26 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

1. That of the First Four Caliphs, a.d. 632-661, the
period of the Theocracy of I slam. ^

2. The Omayyad Caliphs a.d. 661-749, the period of

Pagan Reaction.

3. The Abbasid Caliphs, a.d. 749-1258, the period

of Persian Ascendancy.

The Genealogical Table of the Kureish, — In order^ to
show the descent of the various dynasties, and their claims
of kinship with the Prophet, it is convenient to give the
following genealogical table, which is taken from Lane-
Poole's Mohamedan Dynasties^ an invaluable guide to the
student :

Kureish

Abd-Manaf

Hashim

Abdul Muttalib

Abd-Shams

Omayya

Abu Talib

Abdulla

MOHAMED

(the Prophet)

Fatima = AH

Abbas

THE OMAYYAD
CALIPHS

THE ABBASID
CALIPHS

Hasan

Husayn
THE IMAMS.

The Election of Abu Bekr, — Even before the Prophet
was buried, there was very nearly bloodshed in Medina at
the meeting at which Abu Bekr was chosen to be the
Caliph,^ or " Successor " of the Prophet. He was sixty
years old at the time of his election, and was naturally of
a mild character. But belief in the Prophet filled him with
a moral courage unsurpassed in the records of history.

^ Vide Browne, op. c'lt. p. 210.
2 Khalifa Rasul lllah^ or " Successor of the Prophet of God," is the full title.

xLvi ISLAM UNDER FIRST FOUR CALIPHS 27

The Rebellions^ a.h. ii (632). — Before his illness the
Prophet had given orders for an expedition to avenge the
disaster of Muta ; but Osama, its commander, on hearing
of the calamity which had befallen Islam, brought back the
banner entrusted to him. Abu Bekr showed his fearless-
ness by immediately insisting that this expedition should
be carried through, although it left the city almost defence-
less, and his decision was justified by the result. Yet the
courage it showed was extraordinary ; for insurrections
broke out all over Arabia, and only Medina, Mecca, and
Tayif stood firm for Islam. Medina itself was besieged,
or rather blockaded, by neighbouring tribes, but Abu Bekr
called out every man capable of bearing arms, attacked the
Beduins, and drove them off with slaughter. As Muir
points out, defeat at this juncture might well have in-
volved the disappearance of Islam, and to Abu Bekr must
be given all credit for the victory. After two months of
serious danger the return of Osama as a victor enabled
the Caliph, whose prestige must have been enormously
enhanced, to crush the insurrections.

With supreme confidence Abu Bekr summoned the
leaders of Islam, and, dividing Arabia into eleven districts,
despatched a column to each. The most important
command was given to Khalid, whose first act was to
march north to attack the Beni Tayy and Beni Asad, who
had espoused the cause of Toleiha, a rival prophet. The
Beni Tayy were won over by diplomacy, while the Beni
Asad deserted their Prophet in the battle and then
submitted.

In a second campaign the Beni Temim were massacred
by Khalid. But his hardest fight was with Moseilama, a
rival Prophet, who was supported by the Beni Hanifa of
Yemama, at the back of Al-Katif, a tribe which numbered
40,000 fighting men. The struggle was desperate, and
in the first charge the Moslems were beaten back to
their camp. But they rallied and broke the Beni Hanifa,
who took refuge in a walled garden. The Moslem heroes
leapt down among them, and the " Garden of Death,"
as it was termed from the slaughter, was never forgotten.
In the slaughter, which was terrible on both sides, the

28 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Moslems lost 1200 men, among whom were thirty-nine
warriors bearing the honoured title of Ashah or " Com-
panions " of the Prophet. This was the crowning victory,
and a few months later, within a year of Mohamed's
death, peace reigned once again in Arabia, every district
of which had been visited by the irresistible columns of

Abu Bekr.

The Battle on the Termuk, a.h. 13 (634). — In Chap-
ter XLIII. I have confined myself to the campaigns waged
against Iran ; it will be appropriate here to give a brief
account of the wonderful exploits of Islam in other fields.
It must be borne in mind that almost our sole authority
for these is Arab tradition. But although in details this
is naturally partial and one-sided, there is little or no
doubt as to the main facts.

The victories of Abu Bekr left the Arab tribes
defeated and sullen ; but the call to war and plunder
welded them together and, as success followed success,
tribe after tribe not only sent out its fighting men,
but marched in its entirety to settle in more fertile lands.

The strategy of the Caliph in attacking the Roman
and Persian Empires simultaneously must have seemed to
be midsummer madness, and, judged by all ordinary
canons, so it was. But in the end the madmen won,
although they were compelled from time to time to neglect
one field of operations in order to ensure success in
another.

In A.H. 12 (633) Khalid started on his victorious
career against the Persian Empire, and in the same year a
second Khalid, son of Said, was despatched with instruc-
tions to organize the friendly tribes on the Syrian frontier,
but to avoid fighting unless attacked. Having in a.h. 13
(634) incautiously pushed northwards towards Damascus,
he found his communications cut near the Sea of Tiberias,
and thereupon fled panic-stricken, leaving his camp to the
enemy. The retreating Arabs were rallied by Ikrima,
who had already distinguished himself in the Hadramaut,
and Abu Bekr sent such large reinforcements that the
army of Syria became the main army of Islam, as compared
with the weak force entrusted to Khalid. We read that

xLvi ISLAM UNDER FIRST FOUR CALIPHS 29

there were more than one thousand " Companions *' in
its ranks. Organized into four divisions, with a total
strength of 30,000, apart from a reserve of 6000 men
under Ikrima, it marched north, and working inde-
pendently eventually threatened Syria from Hebron on
the west to Damascus on the east.

Heraclius despatched four armies to overwhelm the
detached divisions, which thereupon united on the left
bank of the Yermuk, an eastern tributary of the Jordan.
There the two hosts faced one another for months, with-
out risking any decisive action. Abu Bekr in great
anxiety ordered Khalid to leave Irak, and that general,
with 9000 men, made one of the greatest desert marches
on record and joined the Syrian army. In a.h. 13 (634)
he gained a complete victory, known as the battle of
Wakusa, over a vastly superior Byzantine ai^my. Thou-
sands of the enemy were driven over a chasm, and the
victory, although purchased at heavy cost, won Syria for
Islam.

The Death of Abu Bekr and the Accession of Omar^
A.H. 13 (634). — After Abu Bekr had ruled Islam for two
years he felt his end approaching, and appointed Omar his
successor. He then continued to occupy himself with
public business until his death, which removed from the
stage one of the noblest, simplest, and bravest characters
known in history. Among his favourite aphorisms was
the following : " One of the best of men is he who
rejoices over a penitent, prays for a sinner, and aids a
charitable man in his good work."

The first act of Omar was to remove Khalid from
his command, after which he raised reinforcements to aid
the army in the field by every possible means. As long
as he lived the forces of Islam were directed with consum-
mate skill.

The Capture of Damascus^ a.h. 14 (635). — Damascus,
one of the oldest cities in the world, was the goal of the
victorious Arabs. Being unversed in the art of besieging,
they made no scientific approaches but merely invested
the city, and for months little or no progress was effected.
Finally Khalid, who although deposed from the command

30 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

was still the real leader, crossed the moat by night on
inflated skins, escaladed the battlements, and captured the
city. A second victory on the plain of Esdraelon ended
the campaign and riveted the Moslem yoke on Syria.
Reinforcements were then despatched to Irak, where they
arrived just in time to win the battle of Cadesia.

The Capture of Antioch and the Capitulation of
Jerusalem, a.h. 15 (636).— After the battle of the Jordan
the Moslems marched northwards and besieged Hims, the
ancient Emessa, which capitulated. Antioch, too, surren-
dered after a batde fought outside its walls, and Heraclius,
scarcely more than a decade after his splendid victories
over Persia, withdrew from Syria, leaving Jerusalem to
its fate. The Holy City of Christendom capitulated in
A.H. 15 (636), and Omar arrived in person to receive its
submission. He marked this historical event by acts of
clemency and by the foundation of the mosque which bears
his name to-day.

The Conquest of Egypt^ A,n, 19-20 (640-641). — While
the Arabs were making good their position in South-
western Persia before advancing on to the Iranian plateau,
Amr started from Palestine to invade Egypt with a force
of only 4000 men. Omar, alarmed at the risk that was
being run, at first thought of recalling his daring general,
but on realizing that this was impossible sent him consider-
able reinforcements. With an army now 15,000 strong
he had the country at his mercy. He first annexed
Upper Egypt, and then marched on Alexandria, the
second city of the Byzantine Empire, to which he laid
siege. The death of Heraclius, occurring at this juncture,
prevented the despatch of a relieving squadron, and the
city capitulated on terms. Not content with these con-
quests, the forces of Amr marched west along the southern
coast of the Mediterranean as far as Tripoli.

The Assassination of Omar^ a.h. 23 (644). — By this
time the power of Islam had been firmly established.
The empire of the Chosroes had been annexed and that
of Byzantium defeated and deprived of its fairest and
richest provinces. Omar, under whose master mind
these wonderful campaigns had been conducted with

xLvi ISLAM UNDER FIRST FOUR CALIPHS 31

entire success, had been Caliph for ten years and, although
sixty years old, was still full of energy when an assassin's
knife laid him low. A Persian slave, known as Abu
Lulu, complained to the Caliph that he was assessed too
heavily by his master at two dirhems a day. Omar, who
knew the man, replied that for a clever artificer like him,
who was believed to be able to construct a mill driven by
wind,^ the amount was not excessive. Abu Lulu made a
threatening reply, and the following morning stabbed the
Caliph while he was leading the prayers in the mosque.

Thus died the greatest Moslem after the founder of
the religion himself, a man of courage, simplicity, sagacity,
and a passion for justice and duty,^ a combination of
qualities which eminently fitted him to control the
destinies of Islam during the critical decade of conquest.
Nevertheless in Persia the name of Omar, is execrated,
and the anniversary of his death is celebrated as a day of
rejoicing by Persians. Until recently they were accus-
tomed to burn the efl5gy of the Caliph who conquered
Iran.

The Accession of Othman^ a.h. 24 (644). — Omar upon
his death -bed expressed the wish that Abd-al- Rahman
should be his successor, but he refused, and the matter
was referred to a body of electors. In the end, how-
ever, Abd-al-Rahman was permitted to make the choice.
For long he wavered between Ali and Othman, but
finally declared the latter to be the Caliph. Othman's
reign lasted for twelve years, but from the outset it was
clear that he did not possess the necessary qualities for
dealing effectively with a diflicult situation. Even under
the iron rule of Omar it was impossible to curb the
insubordinate spirit shown by the Arabs of Kufa and
Basra. The best hope lay in maintaining the prestige of
the Kureish tribe, but this powerful instrument was
weakened through the impolicy of Othman, who favoured
his own branch, the Omayyad, with the result that the
influence of the Kureish was paralysed by divisions which
were widened by lapse of time.

1 This 19 believed to be the earliest mention of a windmill. Vide also Chapter I.

2 It was a favourite maxim of Omar's that " the most miserable Governor is he
whose subjects are miserable."

32 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

The Expansion of Islam to the West^ a.h. 25-31 (646-

652). The limits of Moslem expansion had not yet been

reached, and under Abu Sarh, a foster-brother of Othman,
the Arabs pushed west of Barca and even threatened
Carthage, whose Governor was defeated in a hard-fought
battle. This period, too, saw the launching of the first
Moslem fleet, in a.h. 28 (649). Its initial enterprise
resulted in the capture of Cyprus, and three years later it
won a naval victory oflF Alexandria, under the command

of Abu Sarh.

The Campaigns in Persia^ a.h. 31 (652). — The death
of Omar had been the signal in Persia for a widespread
but badly organized insurrection, and the Moslem leaders
sought not only to reconquer what had been lost but to
extend the sway of Islam eastwards. Ibn Aamir, the
Governor of Basra, who was entrusted with the conduct
of the campaign, first reduced the province of Fars, and
then marched across the Lut and invaded the province of
Kuhistan, of which he obtained possession. After these
successes he sent a summons to submit to the Governor
of Herat, who craftily replied that he would do so when
Nishapur was taken. Ibn Aamir proceeded to invest
Nishapur, while at the same time devastating the neigh-
bouring valley .of Tus. His troops suffered severely
from the cold but he reduced the city by blockade, and its
Governor paid a sum of 700,000 dinars, together with
many articles of value. Thereupon the Governors of
Herat and of Merv both made terms. It was in this
same year that, as already mentioned, Yezdigird was
murdered, and his death must have been a great relief to
the Caliph. Ibn Aamir, pressing constantly eastwards, won
a great victory on the C3xus, which led to the submission
of Balkh and other outlying provinces of the Persian
Empire. His generals crossed the Hindu Kush, subdued
Kabul, and conquered the Sistan and Kerman provinces.
The advance, however, was not unchequered by reverse,
for the Arabs were defeated by the Khazars in Azerbaijan,
and an entire army perished in the snows of Kerman.^

^ I would locate the scene of this disaster in Sardu, as the Arabs occupied Jiruft.
Vide Yule's Marco Polo (Cordier's edition), vol. i. p. 313.

xLvi ISLAM UNDER FIRST FOUR CALIPHS 33

The Murder of Othman, a.h. 35 (656). — As the years
went by dissatisfaction with Othman grew deeper. His
favouritism towards his own kinsmen of the Omayyad
branch was resented by the Hashimite branch at a time
when the Beduins of Kufa and Basra were ready to rise
against the supremacy of the Kureish. In a.h. 34 (655)
Said, the Governor of Kufa, was expelled by its ever-
turbulent inhabitants, and Othman, instead of inflicting
any punishment, weakly yielded to the storm and
appointed another Governor.

In the following year forces from Kufa, Basra, and
Egypt converged on Medina, and after an initial failure
besieged the palace. The octogenarian Caliph was
deserted by the leading men of the city and murdered,
but met his end with dignity and courage.

The Election of All ^ a.h. 35 (656). — Aft&r this ghastly
tragedy there was a reign of terror in Medina, during
which Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, was
elected Caliph. As a boy he had been one of the earliest
converts to Islam, and during the Prophet's life he had
shown great heroism and conspicuous ability on the battle-
field. But of late years he had lived at Medina, where
he enjoyed respect, but had taken no leading part in
public aflFairs.

Muavia^ the Governor of Syria, — Among the ablest
and most powerful of the Arab chiefs was Muavia, whose
father, Abu Sofian, had commanded the Kureish at the
battle of Ohod, but had afterwards been converted to
Islam. Muavia, who was destined to found the Omayyad
dynasty, had distinguished himself in the early campaigns,
and had been appointed by Omar to the governorship of
Syria, a post which he held for many years. He had
visited Medina before the assassination of his kinsman
Othman, and had begged to be allowed to lead a Syrian
army to his defence, but the aged Caliph had refused
his proffered aid. After the murder Muavia acquired
possession of Othman's blood-stained shirt and hung it
up in the mosque at Damascus, but he refrained from
any definite action until he knew what course Ali would
pursue.

VOL. II D

34 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

The Proclamation of War against Muavia by Ali^^ a.h.

35 (656). — Upon his election to the Caliphate Ali was
advised to pursue and punish the assassins, but declined
on the ground that he lacked the power. At the same
time he was unwise enough to dismiss Muavia, in spite
of entreaties to leave him in his post until his own
position was secure. Muavia thereupon encouraged the
belief that Ali was in collusion with the murderers, and
consequently no other course was open to the newly
elected Caliph but to proclaim war against him.

The Battle of the Camel^ a.h. 36 (656). — Ali was un-
fortunate in having Ayesha, the favourite wife of the
Prophet, as his enemy. She was used as a tool by
Talha^ and Zobayr, who seized Basra after a struggle
with the loyalists. Upon the receipt of reinforcements
from Kufa, Ali advanced on Basra and attempted to
avoid civil war, but failed owing to an attack brought on
by the murderers of Othman. Consequently, the Battle
of the Camel, so called from Ayesha' s appearance in the
fighting line in a camel litter, was fought with intense
bitterness and with terrible losses on both sides. Talha
and Zobayr were killed and Ayesha was captured. The
vanquished were treated with magnanimity, but the battle
was a heavy blow to the best interests of Islam, and
might have been avoided had Ali from the first denounced
the assassins of Othman and refused to have any dealings
with them.

The Battle of Siffin, a.h. 37 (657). — After his victory
at Basra, Ali proceeded to Kufa, which he made his
capital. Organizing a large army, he marched up the
Tigris and traversed the desert of Mesopotamia to the
Euphrates, which he crossed. Muavia was ready with a
powerful force, and after a fruitless attempt at reconcilia-
tion and much desultory skirmishing the battle of Siffin
was fought in A.H. 37 (657). This desperate combat was
distinguished by many feats of courage and raged for
three days without decisive result. Muavia, becoming
disheartened, agreed to a stratagem suggested by Amr,
and caused his men to advance with scrolls of the Koran

1 Talb^ had saved Mohamed's life at Ohod.

xLvi ISLAM UNDER FIRST FOUR CALIPHS 35

fixed to their lances, and crying out : " The law of the
Lord ! Let that decide between us ! " Ali, realizing
that it was only a ruse, would not stop the conflict, but
his fanatical soldiers threatened to desert him unless he
agreed to appoint an arbitrator. Even in this his hand
was forced, since he was not allowed a free choice, but was
compelled to place his interests in the hands of Abu
Musa, a supporter who was at best but lukewarm.

The Arbitration, a.h, 37 (658). — Duma in the heart of
the desert was the place appointed for the momentous
decision, and thither Amr, the conqueror of Egypt, who
represented Muavia, and Abu Musa both proceeded,
followed by thousands of Arabs from both sides who
assembled to hear the judgment. The two umpires
agreed in private that both Ali and Muavia should be set
aside and a fresh election held. Abu Musa gave this
decision in public, but the astute Amr, who spoke after
him, declared that he agreed to the deposition of Ali but
confirmed Muavia as the heir of Othman, the avenger of
his blood, and the best entitled to succeed as Caliph.
This was an astonishing success for Muavia, who was
proclaimed Caliph at Damascus, and a heavy blow for Ali,
whose supporters, however, did not counsel him to resign
the Caliphate.

The Kharijites, — Though destined after lapse of time
to be revered as the equal of Mohamed by the Persian
nation, Ali was most unfortunate during his life. No
sooner had he been obliged, much against his own
judgment, to accept arbitration than 12,000 of his
soldiers separated themselves from the army on the
ground that the cause of Islam had been abandoned to
godless arbitrators, swearing that they would serve no
Caliph, and insisting on " No rule but that of the Lord
alone." Ali showed considerable patience, but before
setting out after the arbitrament to attack Muavia, he
was forced to deal with these fanatical sectaries, who
were committing horrible excesses of every kind. The
majority were allowed to disperse, but 1800 refused all
terms and were killed to a man. The Kharijites or
^* Separatists " appeared again and again, not only in Irak .

36 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

but also ill Persia, the remote Kerman province in
particular being periodically troubled by the appearance
of these visionaries in dangerously large bands.

The Last Tears of Alts Caliphate, — Ali had raised a
large force for invading Syria once more, but after the
diversion against the Kharijites it melted away so rapidly
that the entire expedition had to be abandoned. The
Arabs, indeed, were curiously indifferent to Ali. In
the following year, a.h. 38 (658), he lost Egypt through
an unwise change of Governors, and this misfortune
preyed upon his mind ; but he made no grand effort to
retrieve his position. In the course of the same year
rebellion was stirred up in Southern Persia by Khirrit, an
Arab chief whose views resembled those of the Kharijites.
Up to this point, it would seem, only Moslems had
fought in these civil wars, but Khirrit raised Persians,
Kurds, and Christians, and drove the Arab Governor out
of Pars, and much blood was shed before he was slain
and order re-established. Ziad, an illegitimate half-
brother of Muavia, whom Ali now appointed to Pars,
showed great capacity both in restoring peace and in the
administration of the country ; indeed he was compared
to Noshirwan. In a.h. 40 (660) Ali made peace with
Muavia, and it seemed as though at last his troubles were
ended.

His Assassination^ a.h. 40 (661). — The fanatical Khari-
jites, seeing that they could not force their doctrines on
the empire, were in hopeless mood. Three of them
discussed the gloomy situation, and resolved each to kill
a leader of Islam, Ali, Muavia, and Amr being the
selected victims. Amr escaped through being absent on
the day they had fixed for the deed, Muavia was wounded
and recovered, but Ali was mortally stabbed. With the
magnanimity which characterized him, he gave orders
that, if he died, the assassin should be executed but not
tortured. After making his will, the unfortunate Caliph
passed away and with him ended the period of theocracy
in Islam.

His Character. — Ali stands out as the Caliph who
was too noble and high-minded for his surroundings.

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xLvi ISLAM UNDER FIRST FOUR CALIPHS 37

He refused to be guided by the dictates of expediency
and was, in consequence, no match for his adroit and in-
triguing rival Muavia, who would stoop to the lowest and
most criminal means to gain his purpose. At the same
time he was narrow, with a vein of indecision which at
times gave place to obstinacy. His rigid insistence on
honesty in accounts was much resented by the greedy
Arabs who plundered the empire. But his perfect integrity
and devotion to high ideals, combined with his simplicity
and unassuming manners, make him a most attractive
figure, and the people of Persia have chosen wisely in
making him what we may term their Patron Saint, though,
indeed, he is much more than that.

Some of his aphorisms are : '' A liberal education is
better than gold," to which was added, "No learning
availeth if common sense goeth not with-it"; "The
wealth of a wise man is in his wisdom, and the wealth of
a fool is in his possessions " ; " No words are good unless
good deeds go with them."

The Position of Persia, — " Hellenism," says Noldeke,
" never touched more than the surface of Persian life, but
Iran was penetrated to the core by Arabian religion and
Arabian ways." This weighty saying should be constantly
borne in mind in considering the consequences of the
conquest of Persia by the Arabs, for it is the key to the
whole situation. After the battle of Nahavand Persian
resistance to the Arabs was merely local and the country
was subdued without any great difficulty, although a
general insurrection broke out upon the death of Omar
and there were occasional risings during the Caliphate of
Ali. The Zoroastrians were not offered the choice
between Islam and the sword, as is generally supposed,
but were permitted to retain their religion on the payment
of a poll-tax. Salman, who has already been mentioned
as fortifying Medina against the Kureish, was the earliest
Persian convert, and was numbered among the "Com-
panions" of the Prophet. His example was followed
later on by thousands, among whom was a body of
Daylamite soldiers who embraced Islam and settled at
Kufa. But even conversion brought no true equality,

38 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, xlvi

and in order to secure their lives and property the Persian
nobles had to humble their pride and become clients of
the Arabs. The contempt which the conquerors displayed
towards the people they subdued was like that of the
Normans for the conquered Saxons, and is exemplified in
their bitter maxim, " Three things only stop prayer : the
passing of a client, an ass, or a dog.*' ^ On the other
hand, the finances of the country were modelled on the
Persian system and the administration was manned by
Persians in spite of eflForts to keep them out.

We read of Zoroastrians who fled to remote Kuhistan,
the central portion of modern Khorasan, and of some who
even emigrated by way of Hormuz to India. But the
emigrants were few in number, and from references which
abound in the Arab chroniclers it is clear that fire temples
and Zoroastrian communities existed in many parts of
Persia until comparatively recent times. To-day the only
two important bodies of adherents to '' the good religion *'
reside near Yezd and Kerman ; but I recollect being in-
formed that the inhabitants of various villages to the
north-west of Yezd had not been converted to Islam until
early in the nineteenth century.^

Although Persia ceased for a time to exist as an
independent state, she soon asserted her intellectual
superiority over the Arabs, whom, as the centuries went
by, lack of education and capacity drove back to the
deserts from which they had originally issued. At the
same time the contemptuous treatment of the Persians
was persisted in for many generations.

1 Vide Jurji Zaydan's History of Islamic Chilization, p. 70 (Gibb Memorial).

^ Ten Thousand Miles, etc., p. 156.

♦ «#

(Through the courtesy of H.E. the Persian Minister.)

CHAPTER XLVII

THE TRAGEDY OF KERBELA

The ship IS broken, shattered by the storm of Kerbela ;
Fallen in the dust and blood on the field of Kerbela.
If the Eyes of the World openly wept
The blood would have risen above the Arch of Kerbela.

From the Ele^ of Muhtasham.

The Accession of Hasan and his Abdication^ a.h. 40
(661). — Upon the death of AH, Hasan, his eldest son
by Fatima, was elected Caliph. Muavia prepared to
march against Kufa, where an army 40,000 strong rallied
to support the claims of the house of Ali. But Hasan,
unworthy son of a noble father, was more occupied with
the pleasures of the harem than with the toils of adminis-
tration or the dangers of war. He sent a vanguard of
12,000 men to the front and kept the main body behind
at Madain, where he himself remained dallying among
the gardens, afraid to try his fortune on the battlefield.
On a false report that the vanguard had been cut to
pieces, the fickle Kufans looted the camp of the Caliph
and attempted to seize his person, hoping to make good

40 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

terms for themselves with his rival. Panic-stricken,
Hasan wrote hurriedly to Muavia announcing his sub-
mission. He offered to abdicate and make Medina his
home if granted the contents of the treasury at Kufa and
the revenues of a Persian province ; adding, however, the
further stipulation that the imprecations against his dead
father should cease to form a part of the public prayers.
Muavia made no difficulty about these terms, except that
he refused to stop the imprecations against Ali. He
undertook, however, to arrange that they should never be
heard by Ali's son.

Content with this, Hasan, accompanied by his enor-
mous harem, quitted Kufa without regret and passed off
the stage into seclusion at Medina, where he died some
eight years later from poison administered by one of his
wives. Persian tradition represents the crime as instigated
by Muavia, but of this there is no proof ; on the contrary,
it was to his interest that the family should continue to
have a harmless voluptuary as its head.

The Death-bed Warning of Muavia to Tezid^ a.h. 6i
(680). — On his death-bed Muavia sent a message to
Yezid, his son and destined successor, warning him of
the troubles which lay before him. The message ran, " As
for Husayn, the restless men of Irak will give him no
peace till he attempt the empire ; when thou hast gotten
the victory, deal gently with him, for truly the blood of
the Prophet runneth in his veins. It is Abdulla son of
Zobayr that I fear the most for thee. Fierce as the lion,
crafty as the fox, destroy him root and branch." Had
the dying Caliph's advice been followed, the course of
history would have been affected.

The Invitation to Husayn from the Inhabitants of Kufa. —
The news of Muavia' s death produced, exactly as that
astute ruler had predicted, a strong feeling at Kufa in
favour of Hasan's younger brother Husayn, who was
now the head of the house of Ali, and letters were written
promising the support of the entire population of Irak, if
he would proceed to Kufa. On a strict view of the case
Husayn put himself entirely in the wrong by listening to
these treasonable overtures ; but when all the circum-

xLvii THE TRAGEDY OF KERBELA 41

stances are considered it is difficult to blame him for
championing the rights of his house, which an unworthy
brother had bartered for money and ignoble ease. More-
over, Husayn was probably in straitened circumstances,
owing to his elder brother's action in appropriating to his
own use the greater part of the family income, while,
nevertheless, as head of the family, he had become re-
sponsible for maintaining not only his own wives and
children but also those of his brothers and other relatives.

The true friends of the house of Ali at Mecca begged
Husayn not to trust to the fickle Kufans, and perhaps
their influence would have prevailed but for the interested
advice of Abdulla ibn Zobayr, who clearly saw that his
own ambition to attain the Caliphate could never be
realized as long as Husayn lived.

The March on Kufa, — Husayn, desirdus of testing
public sentiment at Kufa, sent his cousin Muslim ahead
to rally his adherents ; but ObayduUa, who had been
appointed to the governorship, seized and killed the
envoy. The son of Ali may well have been dismayed on
learning the terrible news, which made his expedition
almost hopeless. But he doubtless realized that he had
gone too far to retreat, while his relations clamoured to
avenge the death of Muslim. Consequently a little party
of thirty horse and forty foot — the numerical weakness
was a sign of poverty — quitted Mecca and marched north
to Kufa. As if to make the military conditions still more
unfavourable, this tiny force was accompanied by women
and children. The messages received on the way were
more and more discouraging, and the situation was well
summed up by a traveller coming from Kufa, who ex-
claimed, " The heart of the city is with thee, but its sword
is against thee." The Beduins at first rallied to the
standard of Husayn, but finding the position hopeless,
gradually deserted the doomed band.

As they approached Kufa, a chief named Al Hurr
barred their farther progress, but courteously intimated
that they might move either to the left or to the right.
Accordingly, leaving Kufa to the right, they made a some-
what aimless detour round the city until their farther

42 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

progress was arrested by Amr, who, according to Persian
legend, was bribed by the promise of the governorship of
Rei to lead the troops against Husayn. In true Arab
fashion many interviews took place, in the course of which
Husayn offered to submit, on condition that he was either
permitted to return home or sent to Damascus. Obay-
dulla, seeing the prey in his grasp, refused consent to any
conditions and sent Shimr^ — whose name is perhaps the
most execrated in Persia — to force Amr to seize the
Pretender's party, or to supersede him if he declined to
act.

The Tragedy, — On the tenth of the month of Moharram
A.H. 6 1 (680), the closing scene was enacted on the plain
where the city of Kerbela subsequently grew up round the
tomb — known as Mashhad^ or " Place of Martyrdom ** —
of Husayn ; it was built as a memorial of the tragedy.
Cut off from the river and with only a rough barricade to
protect their rear composed of tents pegged together and
some reeds and tamarisk, the little band prepared to fight
to the death, with a heroism that challenges our admira-
tion through all the centuries that have since passed.
Tradition says that before the battle joined Al Hurr left
the ranks of the Kufans and ranged himself on the side of
Husayn, exclaiming, " Alas for you ! you invited him and
he came, and you not only deceived him, but are now
come out to fight against him. Nay, you have hindered
him and his wives and his family from the water of the
Euphrates, where Jews and Christians and Sabeans drink,
and where pigs and dogs disport themselves ! "

The combat was hopelessly uneven from the begin-
ning ; deadly arrows flew from thousands of bows and
kinsman after kinsman fell. Husayn at first was in-
tentionally spared, but, as he was plainly determined to
die rather than submit, he too was attacked in the end,
his tents were set on fire, and he retreated to the river,
burning with thirst. Here Shimr and some of the cavalry
closed in upon him ; he was mortally wounded by an

1 I have seen the man who acted the part of Shimr at the Passion Play set on and
beaten. Breaking away, he rushed to the Governor-General for protection, screaming
with fear and exclaiming, " I am not Shimr, but Your Excellency's cook ! " Cases are
known in which players acting the part of Shimr have been killed.

xLvii THE TRAGEDY OF KERBELA 43

arrow, and then in a calculated burst of savagery was
ridden over by the horsemen. Not a fighting man was
left alive, but like the defenders of Thermopylae they
left deathless fame behind them. When the seventy
heads were brought to ObayduUa, and he callously turned
that of Husayn over with his staff, the voice of an aged
Arab rose in protest. " Gently ! '' he said ; *' it is the
grandson of the Prophet. By Allah ! I have seen these
very lips kissed by the blessed mouth of Mohamed ! ''

The Journey to Damascus and the Return to Medina, —
The two little sons of Husayn, Ali Asghar and Husayn,
his two daughters, and his sister were sent to Damascus.
There the Caliph, having secured the destruction of the
family, disowned responsibility for the acts of his officials
and entertained the orphans with respect and considera-
tion until arrangements were made for th^ir return to
Medina. In that city they lived, pouring out the stories
of their woes to the pilgrims who visited the tomb of the
Prophet, until dark clouds of indignation gathered against
the Omayyad dynasty.

The Passion Plays, — This tragedy was the origin of the
Passion Plays, which are acted annually not only in Persia,
where Shiism is the official religion, but also throughout
Asia wherever Shia Moslems gather together. I have
been a spectator of these plays, and can testify that to
listen to the shrill ululations of the women and the grief
of the men is so moving that it is difficult not to execrate
Shimr and Yezid as fervently as the rest of the audience.
Indeed the Passion Plays represent a force of poignant
grief which it would not be easy to estimate, and the
scenes I have witnessed will remain unforgotten so long
as I live.^

The Historical Basis of the Shia Sect, — It was as the
result of this tragedy that the Shia or "Faction'* of
Persia came into existence. It is asserted by Arabic
writers, among the earliest being Al-Yakubi ^ of the ninth

1 In chap. xii. of The Glory of the Shia fVorld I have attempted to give the tragedy
from the Persian point of view.

2 Ed. Houtsma, vol. ii. p. 293 (quoted from Browne's work). " Among the sons
of Husayn were Ali Akbar, who was killed at TafF and left no offspring . . ., and
Ali Asghar, whose mother was Harar, the daughter of Yezdigird, whom Husayn used to
call Ghazala ('the Gazelle')."

HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

century of our era, and it is universally believed by
Persians, that Husayn married the daughter of Yezdigird,
who is known throughout Persia as " Shahr-bdnu " or
the " Queen." She figures among the heroines in the
Passion Plays, and Browne gives a translation of one of
the parts in his usual felicitous verse :

Born of the race of Yezdigird the King

From Noshirwan my origin I trace.

What time kind Fortune naught but joy did bring

In Rei's proud city was my home and place.

There in my father's palace once at night

In sleep to me came Fatima " the Bright " ;

" O Shahr-banu " — ^thus the vision cried —

" I give thee to Husayn to be his bride ! "

As the play proceeds, Shahr-bdnu is brought to Medina
as a prisoner of war by Hasan, who treats her chivalrously.
Omar, however, orders her to be sold as a slave.

But Ali then appeared upon the scene,
And cried, " Be silent, fool and coward mean !
These gentle women, traitor, void of grace,
Shall not stand naked in the market-place ! "
Light of mine eyes ! After such treatment dire,
They gave me to Husayn, thy noble sire.

In other words, as Alexander the Great is believed to be
of Achaemenian descent on his mother's side, so the
descendants of Husayn inherit the same royal blood
through the illustrious Sasanian dynasty. Now the
doctrine of the divine right of kings was fervently
accepted by Persia under the Sasanian dynasty, as the
previous chapters have shown, and there is no doubt
that belief in the Sasanian origin of the descendants of
Husayn has been the main cause for the faithful adherence
of Persia to the house of Ali.

Its Religious Basis and Doctrines. — But this important
matter has a religious side. Ali was the first cousin and
perhaps the first male convert of the Prophet. He was
also his adopted son, and by marrying Fatima became his
son-in-law. In other words, since the Prophet had no
sons who grew up, the connexion of Ali with the founder
of Islam was closer than that of any other man, and he
was moreover much beloved by his father-in-law, whom

THE PULPIT OF THE MAHDI.

(In the Mosque of Gauhar Shad at Meshed.)
(Through the couitrsy of Lieut. O. Niederniayer. )

xLvii THE TRAGEDY OF KERBELA 45

he served with conspicuous loyalty and courage. The
Shias firmly believe that the angel Gabriel visited the
Prophet at Mecca during the course of the "Farewell
Pilgrimage" and instructed him to proclaim Ali as his
successor. The ceremony was performed during the
course of the return journey at the Pool of Khumm,
where a throne was constructed from camel-saddles. Ali
was set thereon by the Prophet, who then enfolded the
" Lion of Allah *' ^ in such a close and long embrace that
his virtues were transmitted to his illustrious son-in-law.
This investiture Is annually commemorated in Persia as
" the Festival of the Pool of Khumm.'' In accepting it
as authoritative the Shias naturally reject as usurpers
Abu Bekr, Omar, and Othman, and deem Ali and his
descendants, the Imams,^ to be the only true successors
of the Prophet. So exalted is Ali, the " Hand of God,"
that the saying runs, " Mohamed is a city of learning,
Ali is its gate."

The sacred Imams, whose nature knew no sin and
whose bodies cast no shadow, are the intercessors between
man and God. They are invested with supreme spiritual
leadership and hold in consequence a far higher position
than that of the prophets. It is believed that the twelfth
Imam never died, but in a.h. 260 (873) disappeared into
miraculous concealment, from which he will reappear on
the Day of Judgment in the mosque of Gauhar Shad at
Meshed, to be hailed as the Mahdi or " Guide " and to
fill the earth with justice.

It is needless to say that beliefs such as these render
those who hold them bitterly hostile to the general body
of Moslems, who rest their doctrine on the authority of the
Prophet and the early Caliphs — including, of course, Ali.
As will be seen later on, bloody wars have raged between
the Sunnis or " Traditionists " and the Shias analogous to
those between our Protestant ancestors and the Roman
Catholics of Spain, and to-day union between these two
great divisions of the Moslem world appears to be as
unattainable as ever.

1 One of the many titles of AH.
2 Imam signifies a spiritual and temporal ruler and a leader by divine right.

46 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, xlvh

It remains to add that, in consequence of this doctrine
of the Imams, the Shahs of Persia have no religious
authority in their kingdom, whereas the Sultan of Turkey
is the acknowledged Caliph among Sunnis. Indeed, the
position of the Shahs since the downfall of the Safavi
dynasty is theoretically that of usurpers, although in prac-
tice they were absolute monarchs until the mystic word
" constitution " was heard in Persia. It may further be
observed that Shias make pilgrimages to Kerbela, the
scene of the martyrdom of Husayn, and " Kerbelai " is a
title which ranks only second to that of " Haji.'' They
also visit the tomb of Ali at Najaf. In Persia the Sacred
City and the Glory of the Shia World is Meshed, where,
as described in Chapter L., Riza, the Eighth Imam, is
buried, and " Meshedi '' is the third and last title of
honour affected by Shia pilgrims.

Omayyad Dirhem.

CHAPTER XLVIII

PERSIA A PROVINCE OF THE OMAYYAD CALIPHATE

Men of Kufa, I see before me heads ripe for the harvest and the reaper,
I am he. I seem to myself to see blood between turbans and shoulders. I
am not one of those who can be frightened by an inflated bag of skin, nor
need any one think to squeeze me like dried figs. . . . The Prince of the
Believers has spread before him the arrows of his quiver, and has tried every
one of them by biting its wood. It is my wood he has found the hardest and
the bitterest, and I am the arrow which he shoots against you. — The Speech
of Hajjaj bin Yusuf.

The Omayyad Dynasty, — In the preceding two chapters,
and more especially in the last, events which have con-
cerned Persia both from the religious and from the
political aspect have been treated in some detail, and
Muavia, the founder of the Omayyad dynasty, has been
given a secondary position. But it would be impossible
in a history of Persia, to ignore the importance of the
Omayyad dynasty, which ruled the vast Moslem empire
for nearly a century, and I have therefore devoted to it a
special chapter.

The Position of Muavia strengthened by the Adherence of
Ziad, — Muavia began his reign in Syria in a.h. 35 (656),
and he became Caliph of the entire Moslem world upon
the abdication of Hasan in a.h. 40 (661), but it was not
until two years later that he entered into possession of
all the lands of the Caliphate. It was at this date that
Ziad, Ali's Governor of Fars, became reconciled to him,
and presented himself under a safe-conduct at Damascus,
bringing all arrears of revenue, and in addition a million
pieces as a gift. His remarkable capacity secured the

48 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Caliph's public acknowledgment of his relationship with
himself, and he was appointed Governor of Basra, where
he ruled the turbulent Arabs with a rod of iron. Later
on Kufa was added to his administration, and there he
introduced a reign of terror for the purpose of crushing
conspiracies that boded ill for the future of the Omayyad
dynasty. The Arab chroniclers state that no viceroy
ever enjoyed such powers as Ziad, who ruled from the
Euphrates to the Indus and Jaxartes, and maintained a
court modelled on that of the Great King.

Moslem Progress in the East, — During the Caliphate
of Muavia the yoke of the Arabs was fixed more securely
on the East. Herat, which had rebelled in a.h. 41 (662),
was stormed, and so was Kabul two years later. Ghazni,
Balkh, and Kandahar were visited by Moslem armies.
In A.H. 54 (674) the Oxus was crossed and Bokhara
captured, and in a.h. 56 (676) Samarcand fell to the
Moslems, who strengthened their position up to the
Jaxartes on the north and to the Indus on the south. In
short, they became successors of Alexander the Great.

From Basra and Kufa Ziad governed Persia through
his sons. The province of Khorasan, which at this period
comprised the Moslem empire east of the Lut as far
as the confines of India, was divided into four great
districts, with their centres at Nishapur, Merv, Herat,
and Balkh respectively. Of these cities only the first-
named lies within the limits of modern Iran. It was at
this time, too, that Arab colonies were planted in Khorasan,
traces of which still survive, although the Mongol inva-
sions shattered their power. I have, indeed, myself
frequently come across small bodies of Arab tribesmen,
and a regiment termed the Arab va Ajam is still recruited
in the Shahrud district.

The Power and Prosperity of Muavia, — Muavia cer-
tainly ranks as one of the great Caliphs. Owing to his
sagacity, his hold on Damascus was never seriously
threatened, and he converted it into the magnificent
capital of the Caliphate. His successful campaigns to
the confines of India have been referred to, and he was
on the whole equally successful in the West, attacking

xLvm THE OMAYYAD CALIPHATE 49

Constantinople or raiding some part of the Byzantine
Empire year after year, always acting on the offensive
and rarely suffering disaster.

Tezid declared Heir- Apparent^ a.h. 56 (676), and his
Succession in a.h. 61 (680). — While at the zenith of
his power and prestige, Muavia decided to designate
Yezid, his eldest son, as his successor. Syria and Irak
acquiesced in the innovation, whereas at Mecca and
Medina the outcry was loud and bitter. But Damascus
was now the capital, and the protests even of sacred
Mecca could be disregarded by the Caliph, who forced its
inhabitants to take the oath of fealty at the point of the
sword. The feeling that was excited found expression in
an epigram which Masudi has preserved :

We*re filled full of wrath, and were we to drain
The blood of Omayya, our thirst would still pain :
While wasting your people, ye still without care,
Ye sons of Omayya, go hunting the hare.^

Muavia died in a.h. 61 (680), and thanks to the effective
arrangements he had made, Yezid, his son by the daughter
of a Beduin chief, succeeded to the Caliphate as if it had
been a hereditary throne, although his tenure of it did
not by any means continue untroubled. He was specially
addicted to the pleasure of the chase, as the epigram just
quoted shows, and gave very litde attention to affairs of
State. But he does not appear to have been an incom-
petent ruler, and he hardly merits the invective with
which his name has been loaded on account of the
tragedy of Kerbela.

The Rebellion of Ibn Zobayr^ a.h. 61 (680). — As
Muavia had foretold, AbduUa ibn Zobayr proved a
dangerous man. Having himself sent Husayn to his
death on the field of Kerbela, he took advantage of the
unpopularity this deed brought upon the Caliph to head
a rising against him. For a time the crafty rebel pre-
tended to be loyal, and Yezid was naturally loath to take
extreme measures ; but at last, in a.h. 63 (682), he was
obliged to send a force to Medina, which, after defeating

^ Masudi, ii. 50. The translation is quoted from Omayyads and jibbmids by Zaydan.
VOL. II E

HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

the troops of Ibn Zobayr, plundered the city of the
Prophet for three days. Mecca was next attacked, and
in the course of a two months' siege the Kaaba was
burned. At this critical juncture news was received of
the death of Yezid, and the army in consequence with-
drew, leaving Ibn Zobayr for the time being securely in
possession of the Sacred City.

The Bokhara Campaign, — While the great events of
which we have taken notice were occurring at the centre
of the Moslem world, there was expansion, together with
confusion, disturbance, and internal discord, farther east.
On his succession to the Caliphate Yezid appointed Salm
ibn Ziad to Khorasan. He found Bokhara in rebellion,
its Queen having offered her hand to the Turkish King
as the price of his assistance. Salm, aided by his general
Muhallab, whose connexion with Khorasan was intimate
and distinguished, defeated the combined armies, the
Queen was forced to sue for peace, and Salm returned in
triumph to Merv.

The Campaign of the Northern Beduin against the
Southern Beduin^ a.h. 46-65 (666-685). — The East, and
more especially Khorasan, had been convulsed for many
years by feuds between the Arabs of the North and the
Arabs of the South which broke out in civil war. The
fighting had raged for a year without intermission when it
culminated in a victory gained at Herat by the Modhar,
or Arabs of the South, who inflicted a loss of 8000 killed
on the enemy. Other battles were fought and much
blood was shed, and all progress was necessarily brought
to a standstill by these dangerous jealousies.

The Divisions in the Caliphate^ a.h. 61-73 (680-692).
— The Caliphate after the death of Yezid was filled by
a weakling boy who died in a few months, and Yezid*s
kinsman Merwan, who was elected in his place, lived for
only a year. Abdul Malik, Merwan's son, succeeded him
and ruled for some years, with Ibn Zobayr holding the
Sacred Cities, Irak, and the East as a rival Caliph. The
situation was still further complicated by a certain
Mukhtar, who gained possession of Kufa as the agent of
Mohamed, son of the Caliph Ali, known from his mother

xLviii THE OMAYYAD CALIPHATE 51

as the Hanifite. Mukhtar was killed by Musab, brother
of Ibn Zobayr, who in turn was defeated and killed by
Abdul Malik in a.h. 71 (690). Ibn Zobayr, who
probably would have been elected Caliph had he shown
more enterprise after the death of Yezid, was attacked
for the second time in a.h. 72 (691). It was on this
occasion that Hajjaj bin Yusuf, the ferocious general and
administrator who was the incarnation of the spirit of the
Omayyad dynasty, first played a leading part. He
showed no respect for the Sacred City, which he besieged,
and Ibn Zobayr, deserted by many of his followers, met
a soldier's death in a.h. 73 (692), after thirteen years of
successful independence, during which he had been a
constant rival of the Caliphs. The Caliphate of Abdul
Malik was then acknowledged throughout the Moslem
world.

The Massacre of the Enemies of Husayriy a.h. 66
(685). — In A.H. 65 the Kharijites, whose sinister activity
kept Persia perpetually convulsed, visited the tomb of
Husayn at Kerbela and bewailed their desertion of his
cause. They then invaded Syria, but were defeated and
returned to Kufa. In the following year there were
tribal fights in Kufa which ended in a massacre of all
who had opposed Husayn. Persians exult over the just
retribution which fell upon Shimr, Amr, and other
citizens, many of whom were put to death with torture ;
and owing to the vigilance of Mukhtar but few escaped.
The heads of Amr and his son were sent to the Hanifite,
who appears to have been merely a tool of a crafty
intriguer..

The Azrakites. — In a.h. 74 (693) Irak was threatened
by a branch of the Kharijites, termed Azrakites, and, as
the Arabs were unwilling to fight in these campaigns,
Hajjaj was appointed Governor. Arriving suddenly at
Kufa, he sat in the mosque with his face veiled until
asked his name, when he delivered the speech which is
quoted at the head of this chapter. Frightened by such
ferocious language, the citizens streamed out to the camp
and the peril was averted ; but time after time insurrec-
tions of these fanatics broke out, unhappy Kerman

52 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

serving as their headquarters, until, weakened by divisions,
the bands broke up^ to be eventually crushed by the
able general Muhallab, who as a reward was appointed
Governor of Khorasan.

The Rebellion of Ibn-al-Ashath^ a.h. 8o (699). — During
the course of the campaigns beyond Sistan an Indian
monarch named Ratbil had defeated a Moslem force by
luring it into the defiles of what is now Afghanistan. To
avenge this humiliation, a powerful army was despatched
under Ibn-al-Ashath ; but he, conceiving himself unjustly
treated by Hajjaj, rebelled. Supported by his entire
army, he was welcomed everywhere, and the detested
Hajjaj fled from Basra, where the Pretender was received
as Caliph. Hajjaj, however, collected an army in Syria,
and Ibn-al-Ashath was defeated and escaped to Kerman.
Ultimately he took refuge with Ratbil, who to please
Hajjaj put him to death.

The Rebellion of Musa ibn Khazim. — The state of
anarchy which prevailed in Khorasan and the loose nature
of Arab authority make it almost impossible to give
within reasonable compass a consecutive and intelligible
narrative of events. They may be illustrated by the
career of Musa, son of Khazim. Owing to tribal feuds
he sought refuge at Samarcand, and he then obtained
possession of the province of Termez, which he ruled for
fifteen years. In the end he was attacked by a large
force and slain.

Death and Character of Abdul Malik, — The reign of
Abdul Malik, albeit a stormy one, marked the culminat-
ing point of the Omayyad dynasty. Successful on the
whole, he was undoubtedly an able ruler, with a con-
ciliatory policy, but he owed much to the brilliant abilities
of Hajjaj. The Arab chroniclers mention that during
his reign the Caliphate first minted a coinage, and also
that the accounts of the exchequer were first conducted
in Arabic instead of Persian, which must have involved
a serious loss of influence to the subject race.

The Campaigns in Central Asia ^ a.h. 86-96 (705-714).
—Under Welid, the son and successor of Abdul Malik,
the Moslem arms penetrated farther and farther east-

xLviii THE OMAYYAD CALIPHATE 53

wards, substituting conquest for what had hitherto been
little more than raids. Kutayba/ who ably conducted these
operations in Central Asia, chose Merv for his head-
quarters, and every year made a successful campaign,
generally crossing the Oxus and sometimes the Jaxartes.
Balkh, Tokharistan, and Ferghana were his first objective ;
then the fall of Baykand, a trading centre in Bokhara,
secured for him booty of inestimable value. In a.h. 90
(709) the city of Bokhara itself was taken. A rising
occupied Kutayba*s energies in the following year, but he
was soon free to attack Ratbil in Sistan. In a.h. 93 (712)
he turned his arms towards Khiva, where after gaining a
success he heard that Samarcand was in the hands of rebels.
Leading his veterans by forced marches, he began the
siege of that city, whose king on the arriv^ of battering-
engines lost heart, and peace was made on the terms that
a heavy tribute should be paid and a levy of horsemen
supplied. The conqueror was allowed to enter Samar-
cand, where he destroyed the fire temples and built a
mosque, but he broke his plighted word and retained the
city as a Moslem possession. In the last two years of
this eventful decade Kutayba reached Kashgar. A curious
legend of this campaign has been preserved, according to
which the Arab general swore to take possession of the soil
of China. The " King " (probably the frontier governor)
released him from this oath by sending him a load of soil
to trample on, a bag of Chinese money to symbolize
tribute, and four royal youths on whom he imprinted
his seal. The whole story has a delightful touch of reality.
The Advance to the Indus^ a.h. 89-96 (707-714). —
During the reign of Welid the Moslem hosts, under
Mohamed ibn Kasim, the first Arab to make his mark in
India, pushed into Sind from Makran and captured
Multan, where the value of the spoil was estimated at
1 20,000,000 pieces. The death of Welid put an end to
any farther advance, but the Moslems remained in Sind
permanently. There, so long as tribute was duly paid,
they allowed the worship of idols in direct violation of
the Prophet's order.

1 The campaigns of Kutayba are detailed with some fulness in The Heart of Asia,

54 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

The Achievements of JVelid^ a.h. 86-96 (705-714). —
The short reign of Welid was one of essential grandeur,
marking as it does the zenith of Moslem power. If a
comparison be desired, it may be said that Abdul Malik
compares with Kobad and Welid with Noshirwan. His
victorious armies marched to the frontiers of China and to
the Indus ; while in the West the conquest of Spain was an
even more splendid and substantial achievement. Much
of the credit for these great gains was due to the personality
of the Caliph, whose authority was supreme and whose
word was law from the frontiers of China to the Atlantic.

The Campaigns of Tezid in Gurgan and Tabaristan^
A.H. 98 (716). — Yezid, son of Muhallab, was appointed
Governor of Khorasan to succeed Kutayba, who upon the
succession of Sulayman to the Caliphate had rebelled and
been killed. Yezid's arms were directed in the first
instance against Gurgan,^ the ancient Hyrcania, which
with neighbouring Tabaristan had maintained its inde-
pendence, although it lay across the direct route from
Irak to Central Asia. Yezid captured Dihistan, and drove
the inhabitants of Gurgan into the Elburz, where they
were finally forced to submit ; after butchering many
prisoners and ravaging the country he invaded Tabaristan,
the modern Mazanderan. In this campaign he at first
successfully marched through the plain country and occu-
pied Sari. A battle was fought in which the Moslems
routed the enemy, but being lured into an ambush they
suffered such severe losses that Yezid was glad to purchase
his safe retreat for 300,000 dinars. Returning to Gurgan,
which had revolted, he besieged its prince for seven months
in a stronghold situated on a mountain top which was
accessible by only one route. This was probably Kala
Maran, to which I have already referred in connexion with
the Parthian capital. In the end he made prisoners of the
garrison, and was able to fulfil a dreadful vow similar to
that of Khalid by grinding wheat into flour for his bread
with the blood of his victims, thousands of whom also
were impaled along the roads leading to the city.

^ For the campaign in Tabaristan, -vide Ibn Isfancliyar's History of Tabarittarty by
Prof. E, G. Browne (Gibb Memorial). The Arabic form of Gurgan is Jurjan.

xLviii THE OMAYYAD CALIPHATE 55

Khorasan under the Caliphate of Omar ILy a.h. 99-101
(717-720). — Sulayman died after a short reign of less
than three years, and was succeeded by the pious Omar,
to whose credit lies the abolition of the curses against Ali,
which must have given dire and continual offence to
generations of devout Moslems. Omar improved the
position of the inhabitants of Khorasan, many of whom,
though converted to Islam, suffered none the less on that
account from the exactions of the tax collector. Sending
for representatives of the oppressed, the Caliph himself
went into their case, dismissed the Governor, and laid down
that all Moslems should be placed on terms of perfect
equality. He enjoined justice towards the Persians who re-
mained Zoroastrians, forbidding the destruction of their fire
temples though not permitting the erection of new pyres.

The Reign of Tezid II, ^ a.h. i 01- 105' (720-724). —
Omar II. was succeeded by Yezid 11.,^ son of Abdul
Malik. But the new Caliph had first to crush a rebellion
raised by his namesake the son of Muhallab, who had
seized Irak, and so far made good his position that
governors ruled in his name in Pars, Kerman, and other
centres in Persia. Maslama, the Caliph's brother, was
selected to lead the Syrian army, which defeated the rebels,
Yezid, their chief, being killed in the battle. His brothers,
who fled by sea to the Kerman province, were put to death
and their families were sold as slaves. As a reward for
his great services Maslama was appointed Governor of
both Irak and Khorasan. To the latter province he sent
his son-in-law Said, an effeminate man quite out of place
as Warden of the Marches. In spite of Moslem expedi-
tions there was a general rising of the hordes in Khojand
and Ferghana, and the Soghdians, who remained loyal,
suffered considerably before help could be afforded them.
When troops arrived on the scene they attacked the
Soghdians, who had by that time broken away from their
allegiance, and there was much indecisive fighting and
raiding. Altogether during the reign of Yezid II. the
decadence of the Omayyad dynasty becomes more marked.

1 The examination by this Caliph of the first recorded English traveller to the East
is related in Chapter LII.

56 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

The Ahhasid Propaganda, — It was about this period
that Mohamed, great-grandson of Abbas, the uncle of the
Prophet, began to advance the pretensions of the Hashi-
mite branch of the Kureish. To conciliate the Shia party,
it was claimed that the rights of the house of Ali had been
surrendered and merged in the Abbasid representatives,
and emissaries from Mohamed, who lived in a retreat in
the wilds of Palestine, began to visit Khorasan, where
their Hashimite propaganda found a fruitful soil. The
pioneers were put to death, but the cause prospered
nevertheless, and gained many adherents throughout
Persia and Irak.

The Rebellion of Zayd^ a.h. 122 (740). — The Abbasid
party was greatly strengthened by the attempt of Zayd, a
grandson of Husayn, to raise a rebellion. The Kufans,
true to their record, covenanted with him but failed him
when he raised his standard. He died fighting bravely,
and with him the cause of the Shias was lost for the time
being, while the opposition to the Omayyad dynasty
became more united in favour of the house of Abbas.

The Caliphate of Hisham^ a.h. 105—125 (724—743). —
During the comparatively long reign of Hisham the
decline of the Omayyad dynasty continued. I have
mentioned briefly the only incidents which directly con-
cern Persia. But the fact should not be overlooked that
it was during the Caliphate of Hisham that the Moslems
invaded France. For Europe the issue of the battle won
by Charles Martel in a.d. 732, exactly a century after the
death of the Founder of Islam, was of supreme importance.
As Lord Houghton wrote :

Think if the arm of Charles Martel
Had failed upon the Plain of Tours !
That fate whose course we know so well,
That foul subjection, had been ours.
Where then had been the high renown
France can from sire to son deliver.
Where English freedom, rolling down,
One broadening, one continuous river.^

^ Quoted from the Spectator of October 5, 19 12. I have to thank its editor for the
identification of the quotation.

xLviii THE OMAYYAD CALIPHATE 57

Welid IL and Tezid III.^ a.h. 125-126 (743-744). —
The last Caliphs of the Omayyad dynasty call for little
mention. Welid, a profligate ruler, was killed by his
cousin Yezid, who himself died a few months later. The
whole of the Moslem world was in a state of anarchy,
during which Ibrahim, the successor of Mohamed, worked
strenuously to advance the Abbasid cause.

The Rebellion of Ibn Muavia^ a.h. 126-129 (744-747).
— During the Caliphate of Merwan II., who succeeded
Yezid III., there were various insurrections in Syria,
which were crushed with the vindictive cruelty that was
now usual. Of greater importance was the rebellion of
Ibn Muavia, a descendant of Jafar, brother of Ali. Upon
the accession of Merwan the Pretender was acknowledged
at Kufa, but, being deserted by its ever fickle inhabitants,
he retreated to Madain, where thousands* rallied to his
standard. With this force and the support of the Khari-
jites, Ibn Muavia established himself at Istakhr, and his
Governors ruled in Isfahan, and in Rei and Kumis. In
A.H. 129 (747) the Pretender was defeated by the Syrian
troops and, like other pretenders, fled to Khorasan. The
famous Abu Muslim, of whom we shall hear more very
shortly, was at this time established at Merv, nominally
in the interests of the Hashimite section of the Kureish,
but actually as the agent of the house of Abbas. Ibn
Muavia not unnaturally looked to him for support, but
was put to death by the Governor of Herat, on Abu
Muslim's orders.

The Raising of the Black Standard in Khorasan^
A.H. 129 (747). — Everywhere the weakening control of
the central power allowed the Arabs to waste their
strength in internal feuds, and alike in Spain in the
extreme west, in Africa, in Syria, and in Irak the situation
was most gloomy for the Caliph. In Khorasan too the
able Governor Nasr who had proved his military capacity
by defeating and capturing Kursul the Khakan, was
opposed by the Yemenite faction, and the ceaseless quarrel
between Modhar and Yemen convulsed Khorasan as
much as it was convulsing Spain.

At this juncture Abu Muslim raised the black standard

58 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

of the house of Abbas, which bore the following inscrip-
tion from the Koran : " Permission to fight is accorded
to those who take up arms because they have been
unjustly treated." This remarkable man, destined to
overthrow the Omayyad dynasty and to set the house of
Abbas in its stead, was purchased as a slave at Mecca by
Mohamed, the head of the Abbasid family. Showing
conspicuous ability, he was employed as a confidential
agent, and constantly travelled between Southern Palestine
and his native province Khorasan. It was in consequence
of his reports that active steps were taken. Intrigues con-
ducted with consummate skill resulted in the capture of
both Herat and Merv. Nasr reported that 200,000 men
had sworn allegiance to Abu Muslim, and concluded his
appeal for help against the growing movement with the
following celebrated verses :

I see amidst the embers the glow of fire, and it

wants but little to burst into a blaze.
And if the wise ones of the people quench it not,

its fuel will be corpses and skulls.
Verily fire is kindled by two sticks, and verily

words are the beginning of warfare.
And I cry in amazement, "Would that I knew

whether the House of Omayya were awake or asleep ! "

Merwan attempted to send reinforcements to his Viceroy,
and he arrested Ibrahim, who henceforth disappears from
the scene ; but Abul Abbas and Abu Jafar, Ibrahim's
brothers, escaped to Kufa, where they were protected and
remained in hiding.

Meanwhile Kahtaba, the able general of Abu Muslim,
had twice defeated Nasr, at Nishapur and again at
Gurgan. Worn out and a fugitive, Nasr fled through
Rei and died before reaching Hamadan. Kahtaba, follow-
ing close behind, entered Rei, defeated the Caliph's army,
which had marched up from Kerman, and took Nahavand.
He then avoided Ibn Hobaya at Jalola and descended into
Irak. The Syrian General, however, forestalled him and
fell back on Kerbela. An encounter followed near that
city, when Kahtaba defeated the army of the Caliph but
lost his own life. Under his son, Ibn Kahtaba, Kufa was

xLviii THE OMAYYAD CALIPHATE 59

taken, and Abul Abbas, emerging from hiding, was
after a time proclaimed Caliph by the victorious
army.

The Battle of the Great Zah^ a.h. 132 (750). — While
this struggle was going on, another force, detached by
Kahtaba from Nahavand, defeated the troops of Merwan's
son Abdulla and occupied Upper Mesopotamia. The
Caliph, who lived at Harran, at last took the field in
person, crossed the Tigris, and marched down its left bank
with an army 120,000 strong. He crossed the Zab by a
bridge, intending to fight a decisive battle with the
Abbasid forces commanded by Abdulla, uncle of Abul
Abbas. To stimulate the avaricious Arabs Merwan told
them that he had brought treasures with which to reward
them. This caused a movement towards the camp on
the part of some of the tribesmen which was mistaken for
flight. A panic ensued and the entire army fled, thousands
being drowned in the Great Zab. From the field of
battle the victors advanced on Mosul and the unfortunate
Merwan was hunted down and killed. With him perished
the Omayyad dynasty.

The Condition of Persia under the Omayyad 'Dynasty. —
In this chapter I have given as far as possible the history
of Persia as a province of the Moslem Empire. In a
period of universal tyranny and oppression, when tyrants
like Hajjaj represented the Caliph, it is certain that
the Persian people were worse treated than under the
first four Caliphs, who invariably attempted to secure
justice and to repress tyranny and corruption. The in-
habitants of Khorasan were largely instrumental in the
overthrow of the Omayyad dynasty. It was among them
that the Abbasid agents found their most devoted
followers, and we have the remarkable spectacle of a
people risking life and property to serve a man of an
alien race whom they had never seen, and serving him
with rare fidelity and devotion. It was this spirit in-
spiring the followers of the Black Standard which enabled
them to overcome the Arabs of Syria, who were lukewarm
so far as the Caliph was concerned, and thought merely
of their personal, or at most their tribal interests. Conse-

6o HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, xlvih

quently, in a sense the victory won by the men of
Khorasan may be regarded as a sign of national awaken-
ing on the part of the oppressed Persians, who must have
been conscious that in all that made for civilization they
were superior to their Arab masters.

Abu Muslim.

CHAPTER XLIX

PERSIAN ASCENDANCY IN THE EARLY ABBASID PERIOD

The ascendancy of the Persians over the Arabs, that is to say of the con-
quered over the victors, had already for a long while been in course of prepara-
tion ; it became complete when the Abbasids, who owed |heir elevation to
the Persians, ascended the throne. These princes made it a rule to be on their
guard against the Arabs, and to put their trust only in foreigners, Persians,
especially those of Khorasan, with whom, therefore, they had to make friends.
— Dozy, Histoire d'Islamisme.

The End of Moslem Unity, — The Omayyad dynasty
and the empire of Islam were interchangeable terms, but
this is not true of the Abbasid dynasty, which was never
acknowledged in Spain and from the first but inter-
mittently in Africa. In Persia, as will be seen, inde-
pendent dynasties arose as the Caliph grew weak, until
the appalling cataclysm of the Mongol invasion, sweeping
across Iran, ended the degenerate house of Abbas and
with it the Caliphate.

A second fact of special importance, so far as Persia
is concerned, is that the Abbasids owed their success to
armies raised in Khorasan, on which they relied to main-
tain the dynasty against the Arabs. The martial vigour
of the latter had naturally deteriorated, owing to the
luxury which their extraordinary successes had induced
and the system whereby they were maintained, without
working, at the expense of the Moslem empire, just as in
later days the Manchus were maintained in China. So
hostile was the dynasty to the Arabs that Abu Muslim's
orders from Ibrahim, the brother of Abul Abbas, were to
" see that there be not one left in Khorasan whose tongue

62 HISTORY OF PERSIA • chap.

is the tongue of the Arabian, but he be slain." Strange
orders these from a member of the Kureish tribe !

The Accession of Abul Ahhas^ a.h. 132 (749). — After
the victory of Kahtaba in the neighbourhood' of Kufa,
Abu Salma, an agent of the Hashimite cause in Khorasan,
took possession of Kufa and governed under the title of
" Vizier of the house of Mohamed." The two brothers
of Ibrahim who had been in hiding now emerged. Abul
Abbas was the younger, but of a noble mother, and
consequently his claims were held to be greater than
those of Abu Jafar, whose mother was a slave-girl. It
might have been expected that the proclamation of Abul
Abbas as Caliph would immediately follow, but Abu
Salma continually delayed until his hand was forced by
members of the Abbasid party who brought Abul Abbas
to the Great Mosque. There he ascended the pulpit
and inveighed against the infamous Omayyads, who had
usurped the rights of the Prophet. He is said to have
ended his fierce denunciations by exclaiming, " I am the
Great Avenger and my name is Saffahy ' the Shedder of
Blood.' " By this title Abul Abbas is known in history,
although it is not certain that he conferred it upon
himself.

The Massacre of the Omayyads. — The title of the
Caliph was made good by acts of ferocity directed against
the many members of the fallen dynasty. Every scion
of the house was hunted for his life. In Palestine the
uncle of the Caliph added treachery to cruelty. He
proclaimed an amnesty and confirmed it by a feast to
ninety members of the family. When all were seated a
poet declaimed against the evil deeds of the Omayyad
house, and at this signal they were murdered to a; man.
A carpet was drawn over the ninety corpses and the
banquet was resumed ! One of the family, born under
a lucky star, escaped the general slaughter, and; after
wandering as a refugee in Africa was invited to reign
in Spain, where he founded a new Omayyad dynasty
which attained considerable splendour.

The Reign of Abul Abbas and his Death, a.h. 136
(754)-— The reign of Abul Abbas was stormy throughout,

xLix THE EARLY ABBASID PERIOD 63

and it may have been due to his cruelty that a rebellion
broke out in Syria and Mesopotamia, where large armies
still supported the Omayyad cause. Basra, too, defied
the Khorasan troops of the Hashimite general, and had
there been a master-mind to give unity to these eflForts
it might have gone hard with the house of Abbas ; but
none such was to be found. Ibn Hobayra clung to
Wasit at a time when his army might have saved the
Omayyad cause in Syria, and he was induced to capitulate.
The Khorasan veterans at length captured Basra, and
although in Khorasan and other oudying provinces risings
occurred, the Abbasid dynasty was before long firmly
established.

The treachery and ingratitude of Abul Abbas, were
displayed in the assassination of Abu Salma, who was
waylaid when returning from a feast given in^his honour
by the Caliph. Shortly afterwards Abul Abbas himself
died of small-pox. The five years of his reign had been
marked by massacres, treachery, perjury, and ingratitude
on a scale unprecedented in the annals of Islam.

Abu J afar ^ Mansur^ a.h. 136-158 (754-775). — Abu
Jafar, who succeeded to the Caliphate and assumed the
title of Mansur or Victorious, was faced with a serious
rebellion headed by his uncle AbduUa, the Conqueror of
Merwan. Abu Muslim was sent to oppose him, and the
Pretender in desperation butchered 17,000 Khorasan
troops whom he knew he could not trust. Abu Muslim
in the end succeeded, and Abdulla was taken prisoner
and placed in custody at Basra.

The Execution of Abu Muslim^ a.h. 137 (754). — Just
as Abul Abbas had planned the assassination of Abu
Salma, so the ungrateful Mansur determined to kill the
too-powerful Abu Muslim. The latter, suspecting
treachery, asked one of his friends how he thought he
stood with the Caliph. The friend replied in a parable.
" A lion had his foot pierced by a thorn, so that it was
unable to move ; and a simple-minded, well-meaning
man, seeing its weakness and hearing its moaning, took
pity on it, approached it, and drew forth the thorn from
its foot. Thereupon the lion slew the man ; ^ for,' it said,

64 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

' thou art a meddlesome fellow, and perhaps thou may'st
assist some other lion, and it may drive me from my
hunting ground.' '* Abu Muslim replied that, if he
ceased to care for the tender sapling he had planted,
passers-by would pluck it up. He diereupon returned
to Court, where, after listening to reproaches from the
Caliph in the most violent terms, he was cut to pieces.
Thus perished, at the early age of thirty-five, the man
to whose genius and devotion the house of Abbas mainly
owed its success. Retribution may have been due for the
blood of thousands of opponents slain by his orders, but
he had served his masters with consistent loyalty and rare
devotion, and his fate brands Abu Jafar as guilty of the
blackest ingratitude.

The Rebellions in Persia^ a.h. 138 (756), and a.h.
141-143 (758-760). — In A.H. 138 (756) a rebellion
broke out in Persia, Sindbad, a follower of the old re-
ligion, having collected a force to avenge his master
Abu Muslim, who, he stated, upon being threatened by
Mansur, had pronounced the " Most Great Name " of
God, and had flown away in the form of a white dove.
For some three months Sindbad held the country from
Rei to Nishapur, and the rebellion was not crushed until
sixty thousand of his followers had been killed. Three
years later the Governor of Khorasan rebelled, but was
defeated by Ibn Khuzayma, with whom was associated
Mehdi, the Caliph's son and eventual successor. It is an
'indication of the growing importance of Khorasan that
Mehdi was afterwards appointed its Governor. The
Sipahbud^ of Tabaristan, with whom Sindbad had taken
refuge after his defeat, and to whose care the treasure of
Abu Muslim had been entrusted, also rebelled, with the
result that Tabaristan was conquered by the Moslems
and the Sipahbud in despair took poison.

The RavandiSy a.h. 141 (758). — It was about this time
that a strange Persian sect which believed in the trans-
migration of souls and held that the Caliph was
temporarily inhabited by the Deity, suddenly invaded the
palace of Mansur, crying out, " It is the house of our

1 nJe Chapter XLIII.

I— t

xLix THE EARLY ABBASID PERIOD 65

Lord, he that giveth us food to eat and water to drink."
The Caliph, relying on his own authority to quell the
tumult, imprisoned their leaders, whereupon they stormed
the prison and nearly killed him. These fanatics, who
were called Ravandis from the town of Ravand near
Isfahan, continued to exist until the beginning of the
tenth century. They were, curiously enough, the cause
of the institution of a " sentry horse," which thence-
forward was always kept ready saddled at Court for an
emergency.

The Rebellion of the Descendants of Hasan^ a.h. 144
(761). — A much more serious danger than the rebellions
in Persia threatened Mansur when Medina and Basra
rose to support the claims of the house of Ali. The
rebellious cities were dealt with one after the other, and
at Medina the Pretender was deserted and fell fighting.
His brother Ibrahim took possession of Basra and then
of Kufa, but he, too, fell in battle after almost winning the
day, and his army broke up and dispersed.

The Foundation of Baghdad^ a.h. 145 (762). — Mansur
was the founder of Baghdad, which under his grandson
Haroun-al-Rashid was destined to enshrine the imperish-
able memories of the romantic East as recorded in the glow-
ing pages of the Arabian Nights, In forming the new city
he had the statesmanlike design of removing the army
from the neighbourhood of Kufa and Basra, which were
hotbeds of intrigue ; and by reason of its position a few
miles above the ancient Madain, and the permanent
establishment of the Court within its walls, it soon
became the capital of the Empire. Cantonments were
built on the eastern bank of the river, with three separate
camps, for the Khorasan levies on which Mansur depended
and for the Yemen and Modhar tribes.

The Rising at Herat^ a.h. 150 (767). — The latter years
of the reign of Mansur were comparatively peaceful.
There was a rising at Herat under Ustad or " Master
Craftsman" Sis, who declared himself a prophet, and
occupied Khorasan and Sistan until Ibn Khuzayma
defeated him with heavy slaughter. Perhaps the chief
importance of the event lies in the fact that the rebel's

VOL. II F

66 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

daughter Khayzran was taken by Mehdi into his harem,
and became the mother of Hadi and of Haroun.

Persian Influence under Mansur. — During the long
reign of Mansur Persian influence became more and
more marked. The Court dress was Persian, and
literature, medicine, and astronomy began to be studied
under the patronage of the Caliph, who was specially
interested in astrology. Moreover, the Caliphate, which
possessed no good traditions of administration on which
to rely, adopted the same system as that by which the
Sasanian monarchs had ruled. Chief of the great officers
was the Vizier. The first holder of that title, as has been
already mentioned, was Abu Salma. He was assassinated
and his immediate successor was poisoned. The office
then passed to the famous Barmecides or descendants of
Barmak, a title borne by the high priest of the great fire-
temple of Balkh, who was their ancestor. The Barmecides
ruled for more than fifty years (a.d. 752-804), and by
their splendid abilities and generous patronage of learning
and science created the golden period of the Abbasid
dynasty.

Mehdi^ a.h. 158-169 (775-785). — Mansur during
his lifetime had appointed Mehdi his successor, and when
he died the reaction from his harsh and gloomy rule
found expression in praises of Mehdi, who is described
as " the brilliant moon in beauty ; the spring-time from
his perfumes and suavity ; the lion by his courage ; and
the sea, with its resounding waves, is the emblem of his
munificence and generosity." Nor were these praises
wholly unmerited ; for the new Caliph inaugurated his
reign by deeds of mercy, and steadily developed the
Empire, improving communications, fortifying important
centres, founding towns and villages, and encouraging
poetry, literature, and music. On the other hand, there
must be laid to his charge instances of cruelty to his
ministers and generals, and the fact that he organized a
persecution of the Manichaeans, even establishing a special
department to deal with these heretics.

The Veiled Prophet of Khorasan^ a.h. 158-161 (774-
777)- — To the beginning of Mehdi's reign belong the

xLix THE EARLY ABBASID PERIOD 67

incidents made familiar to English readers in Moore's
well-known poem. Its hero, Mokanna, known as Hakim
Burkaiy or " the Physician with the face-veil/* was born
at Karez, which is now a squalid village on the road
between Meshed and Herat. He taught the immanence
of the Deity in Adam, in Abu Muslim, whose name was
still intensely revered, and in himself.^ For four years
he held Central Asia, until, being besieged and seeing no
hope, he cast himself into a tank of vitriol.

Hadi^ A.H. 169-170 (785-786). — Mehdi's favourite
son was Haroun, who had gained much glory in a campaign
to the Bosphorus in a.h. 156, and he wished to pass over
his elder son Musa, better known as Hadi ; but the
latter refused to renounce his rights, and on the sudden
death of Mansur he was proclaimed Caliph without
opposition. His reign, however, was short and un-
important, and when he died, after ruling for about a
year, he was succeeded by his brother, who has achieved
enduring fame as Haroun-al-Rashid, or " Aaron the
Upright." Under him the golden age of Islam was
ushered in.

^ Browne points out the essential identity of all these sects and gives details in vol. i.
chap. ix. of his work.

Mamun and the Imam Riza.

CHAPTER L

THE GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM

It was a dynasty abounding In good qualities, richly endowed with generous
attributes, wherein the wares of Science found a ready sale, the merchandise
of Culture was in great demand, the observances of Religion were respected,
charitable bequests flowed freely . . and the frontiers were bravely kept. —
Al-Fakhri, on the Abbasid Dynasty.

170-193

The Splendour of Haroun-al-Rashid^ a.h,
(786-809).—

Adown the Tigris I vv^as borne,
By Bagdat's shrines of fretted gold,
High-walled gardens green and old ;
True Mussulman was I and sworn,
For it was in the golden prime
Of good Haroun Alraschid.

These lines from Tennyson indicate both the
magnificence of the golden age of Islam and its close
association with Haroun, the Solomon of the Abbasid
dynasty. Bold and of active habit, the great Caliph took
part in the campaigns waged against the Byzantine
Empire, and during his reign Moslem fleets fought
successfully in the Mediterranean. Everywhere Islam
was in the ascendant.

It is of much interest to note that Charlemagne
despatched an embassy to Haroun, composed of two
Christians and a Jew, the latter presumably the interpreter,
who sought for easier access to the Holy Sepulchre and
wished to foster trade with the Caliphate. The return
gifts from Haroun included an elephant, the first to be

CHAP. L THE GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM 69

seen in Western Europe for many centuries, and upon
the instructions of the Caliph the Patriarch of Jerusalem
sent the keys of the Holy Sepulchre to Charlemagne.
Haroun, at the request of the Frank ambassadors, not
only protected Western pilgrims who visited the Holy
Land, but even built a hospice for their entertainment, a
convincing proof of his broad outlook. From Chinese
sources we learn that an embassy was also sent by Haroun
to the Emperor of China. But these embassies were
mere incidents unrecorded by the Arab chroniclers, who
love to dilate on the splendour of the Caliph's Court and
the number of philosophers, doctors of law, poets, and
other learned men who assembled there and inaugurated a
period which reached its zenith under Mamun. It was
the lavish generosity of Haroun, who rewarded a poet for
a sonnet by a gift of 5000 pieces of gold, ten •Greek slave
girls, a horse, and a robe of honour, that drew men of
letters to his Court. The main credit for this movement
is due to him, though, to some extent, he was following
in the footsteps of his father.

The Hasanite Prince of Daylam^ a.h. 176 (792). —
Nevertheless there was another side to Haroun's
character. The case of Yahya, a descendant of the Imam
Hasan, shows that, with all his great qualities, he was
not free from the treachery of his family. Yahya had
gained possession of Daylam, a district to the west of
Resht now termed ,Talish, and grew so powerful and
maintained so brilliant a court that the jealousy of the
Caliph was excited. Fazl, the Barmecide Governor of
Persia, was sent to attack him with a large army, but
terms were made and a document was drawn up and
sealed, according to which Yahya was to visit Baghdad
and there receive honourable treatment. The Caliph,
upon the arrival of the Prince, treated him with honour
and made him costly presents, but shortly afterwards
discovered a flaw in the document and threw him into
prison.

The Downfall of the Barmecides. — The fall of the
Barmecides is one of the best known events in Oriental
history, so powerful and distinguished were the family,

70 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

and above all so generous. Yahya, son of Khalid, had
handed over his offices to his two sons, Fazl and Jafar,
who between them ruled the Empire. Jafar was the
special friend and boon companion of Haroun, who, being
deeply attached to his sister Abbasa, wished for her
presence also when the two were together. But by
Moslem custom this was out of the question, and in order
to overcome the difficulty Abbasa was married to Jafar,^
on the express understanding, however, that the marriage
was to be only nominal. But, as might have been
expected, this artificial arrangement failed, and Abbasa,
who was deeply enamoured of her husband, visited him
in the disguise of a slave and bore him a child. Haroun
was furious at what he probably regarded as high treason,
and put Jafar to death ; Yahya and Fazl were imprisoned,
and both died before their ungrateful master. No great
family has ever excited more sympathy in its misfortunes,
and the tragedy made a deep impression, which has been
preserved for us in the lament of poets and annalists of
the time.

The Death of Haroun-al-Rashid^ a.h. 193 (809). —
In A.H. 193 (809) the Caliph marched in person to crush
a rebellion which, breaking out in Samarcand under the
leadership of a certain Rafi, had spread far and wide.
Haroun, although but forty-three years old, was prematurely
worn out, and grew worse as he moved slowly eastwards.
He informed his physician of his disease, but added :
" Have a care that thou keep it secret ; for my sons
are watching the hour of my decease, as thou mayest see
by the shuffling steed they will now mount me on, adding
thus to mine infirmity.'* There is pathos in these words,
but sympathy is checked by the knowledge that Haroun's
last act was to have the brother of the rebel chief slain in
his presence. Shortly afterwards the great Caliph passed
away. He was buried where he died, in a garden, and a
few years later the Imam Riza was laid to rest under the

A curious instance of a nominal marriage came under my notice at Kerman.
An old lady of seventy who managed her own affairs was much inconvenienced by the
fact that she had to remain veiled ' in front of her steward. To obviate this, she
married his infant son, and as by this act she became the steward's daughter-in-law
she could unveil before him. Truly a manage dt coti'uenance !

L THE GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM 71

same dome, and round the tombs has sprung up the city
of Meshed. As I write these lines, I am sitting in the
British Consulate-General, little more than one thousand
yards from Haroun-al-Rashid*s grave.

Amin and Mamun^A.H. 193-198 (808-813). — Haroun,
like Cyrus the Great, made the fatal mistake of dividing
the Empire. Amin, the son of Zobayda, was nominated
heir-apparent during his father's lifetime, and AbduUa,
surnamed Mamun, or " The Trusted,'' son of a Persian
wife, was declared to be the next successor and was given
the government of the Caliphate east of Hamadan, just as
Bardiya, the brother of Cambyses, was appointed ruler of
the Eastern provinces of the Empire of the Achaemenians.
In anticipation of the death of Haroun, the heir-apparent
had despatched an agent with the army to Khorasan. On
the demise of the Caliph the agent produced two letters
sealed by Amin. By the terms of the first, Mamun was
instructed to have the oath of allegiance sworn to both
brothers (Amin and Mamun), but by the terms of the
second the army, which had been bequeathed to Mamun,
was ordered to return to Baghdad ; this order was
promptly executed as the families of the soldiers were
in the power of Amin.

Mamun proclaimed Caliph of the East^ a.h. 196 (811). —
The brothers consequently started on bad terms, and
Mamun, under the guidance of Fazl ibn Sahl, a recent
Persian convert to Islam, strengthened his position in
Khorasan, where his Persian blood gave rise to the saying,
" Son of our Sister, he is one of ourselves and an Abbasid
to boot." His able general, Harthama, captured Samarcand,
Rafi submitted, and Mamun felt strong enough to declare
himself Caliph of the East. Amin, on the other hand,
was a weak voluptuary who lavished the revenues of the
Caliphate on unworthy pleasures. But he was popular in
Baghdad, where he spent huge sums of money, and where
Mamun was disliked for his Persian proclivities.

The Campaigns of Tahir the Ambidextrous and the
Death of Amin. — Under a court ruled by eunuchs and
mistresses the army degenerated, and Amin's attempts to
attack his brother were uniformly unsuccessful. A force

72 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

which he at length despatched to invade Persia was allowed
to approach Rei without opposition, but there it was
defeated by a smaller body under Tahir " the Ambi-
dextrous," who slew Amin's general, Ali, with his left
hand. This Tahir, a Persian by race, was the descendant
of a slave who, upon securing his freedom, became a client
of the Khuzai clan. He founded the Tahiri dynasty,
which was to play a great part in Khorasan, and the
present Amirs of Kain claim descent from him.^

After his victory Tahir assumed the offensive, and
with the support of Harthama advanced on the capital
by way of Ahwaz, defeating army after army on the way.
Amin, distracted first by a rebellion in Syria and then by
a conspiracy which was for a time successful, was in no
position to withstand him. Receiving the allegiance of
Arabia for his master, Tahir captured Wasit, and Baghdad
alone remained loyal to the Caliph of the West. After a
siege which lasted for a whole year the city was taken by
storm. Amin, who had taken refuge in the citadel, then
surrendered, and was put to death by the Khorasan
soldiery.

Rebellions in the Western Half of the Caliphate^ a.h. 198-
201 (813-816). — But the struggle between the Persian
and the Arabian halves of the Caliphate was not ended by
the death of Amin. By an act of folly Tahir after his
victories was removed from the supreme command in
favour of Hasan, brother of Fazl, the Persian Vizier,
and although he was appointed Governor of Syria and
Mesopotamia instead, he was naturally disinclined to take
active steps, and remained at Ricca a passive spectator of
events.

Mamun apparently determined to make Merv'^ his
capital and did not appear at Baghdad. In consequence,
a rising was fomented at Kufa in favour of the House of
Ali, and other rebellions broke out in Asia Minor and
Arabia. Harthama, faithful to Mamun, travelled to

^ Ten Thousand Miles, etc., p. 399.

2 According to Yakut, the following saying is attributed to Mamun : "There are
three things at Merv which the poor enjoy as well as the rich, to wit, its delicious
melons, its water, which is always fresh owing to the abundance of the snows, and its
downy cotton."

1—1 -Tl

3
1>

L THE GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM 73

Merv to warn him of the dangerous position of affairs,
but owing to the influence of the Vizier he was not
allowed even to speak, but was hurried off to prison,
where he died.

The Proclamation of Alt Riza as Heir- Apparent^ a.h.
201 (817). — To meet the crisis the Caliph took an extra-
ordinary step. In the hope of putting an end to the
insurrection, he appointed as his heir-apparent Ali Riza,
the head of the House of Ali, although he was twenty-
two years older than himself He promulgated an edict
directing that allegiance was to be sworn to the Imam
Riza, as he is generally termed, and in order to mark the
new departure he ordained that the green of the Shia
was to be substituted for the black of the House of
Abbas. The Shias were enraptured,^ but at Baghdad the
people rose in fury to depose Mamun, and his uncle
Ibrahim received homage as Caliph. When news of this
serious occurrence reached Merv, Ali Riza had the nobility
to warn the Caliph that his policy would break up the
Empire. Mamun, realizing the truth at last, gave orders
to march on Baghdad, and Fazl was assassinated in his
bath at Sarakhs, probably by order of his master.

His Sudden Death^ a.h. 203 (818). — At this time the
Caliph gave one of his own daughters to Ali Riza and
a second to Ali Riza's son, while as a further mark of
favour he conferred upon one of his brothers the high
honour of presiding at the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
But the catalogue of his distinctions came to an abrupt
close. The Imam Riza died suddenly from a surfeit
of grapes and was buried under the same dome as
Haroun-al-Rashid. Rumour, accepted as truth by the
Shias, represented that the grapes were poisoned, and it
cannot be denied that the heir-apparent's disappearance
was extremely opportune. Nevertheless, many eminent
Orientalists, Beveridge among the number, believe that
he died a natural death. Be this as it may, Shia pilgrims
at the present day, when moving in procession round the
tomb of Ali Riza, pause to cry out " Curses on Haroun

1 In The Glory of the Shia World, p. 237, 1 have described the whole event from the
shia point of view.

74 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

and on Mamun," and thus the two most eminent and
most Persophile Caliphs of the Abbasid dynasty are
annually execrated by thousands who would otherwise
never have heard of their existence.

Tahir, Viceroy of the East^ a.h. 204-207 (819-822).
— The insurrection of Ibrahim speedily collapsed, and
Mamun showed mercy and an entire absence of vindic-
tiveness towards the rebels. Tahir was appointed Viceroy
of the East ; but he showed signs of disloyalty and was
thereupon poisoned, probably by an agent of the Caliph.
But the influence he had acquired was so great that his
son Talha was allowed to succeed him ; and by this
appointment Khorasan achieved the status of a semi-
independent kingdom.

The Later Tears of Mamun and his Death^ a.h. 218
(833). — After his power had been established at Baghdad
the position and prestige of Mamun rivalled that of his
father. At the same time there was little peace within
the Empire. An insurrection in Egypt took twelve years
to crush, and for twenty years a brigand named Babek,
who professed transmigration and other mystic doctrines,
terrorized the northern provinces, holding his own in
Azerbaijan, and defeating army after army sent against
him.

Mamun was of the same active habit as his father,
and the close of his reign found him taking the field in
person against the Greeks near Tarsus, where, like
Alexander the Great, he caught a chill from the cold
mountain water. Less fortunate than the great Greek,
however, he died from the eflFects of his imprudence.

The ArtSy Science ^ and Literature under Mamun. — A
mere recital of the chief events of Mamun's reign does
not convey the impression of exceptional brilliance or
conspicuous success. Yet all writers agree that for
Islam this was the golden age of intellectual activity.
The arts, literature, science, the practice of medicine
were now seriously studied, and pursued with such
thoroughness that it was through the vehicle of Arabic
that benighted Europe became again aware of the glorious
heritage of Greek science and philosophy of which it had

THE GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM 75

lost sight. All men of learning, whether Moslems, Jews,
Christians, or Pseudo-Sabaeans,^ were welcomed by the
munificent Caliph, and search was diligently made for
the works of the Greek historians, philosophers, and men
of science in order that they might be translated into
Arabic.

It is very interesting to observe how among Moslems
the various sciences sprang up in connexion, more or
less directly, with the study of the Koran. In the first
place, the conversion of thousands of Persians and other
conquered peoples created an urgent need for grammars
and dictionaries. Then came the study of history, not
only of the Arabs themselves but also of the Persians
and Greeks, in order to explain the allusions to other
peoples that were met with in the Koran and in old
poems, which were collected and critically examined for
the elucidation of rare or archaic words. But still these
studies did not satisfy, and the search for knowledge
was continually pushed through new and more and
more divergent channels. Thirdly, an acquaintance with
geography became indispensable, not only for the study
of the Koran but also for the very practical purpose of
organizing the rapidly expanding Empire.

Moslem Exploration and Geography? — The story of
Moslem exploration, although mainly commercial, is of
great interest, especially that carried on by sea outside
the limits of the Empire. It was but a continuation of
the old maritime activity of the Arabs and Persians, in
proof of which we learn that Islam was preached at Canton,
among foreigners consisting mainly of Persians and Arabs,
between a.d. 618 and 626. In other words, the new
religion had reached China before the Hijra^ which fact
points to considerable intercourse between Arabia and
China. The earliest Arab records of the trade with

^ Vide Browne's interesting account of the Pseudo-Sabaeans of Harran in vol. i.
p. 302 of his op. cif. J also the account given of the Nestorians in Chapter XXXVIII.
of this work.

^ For this section I have consulted The Dawn of Modern Geography^ by Doctor
Raymond Beazley ; Lands of the Eastern Caliphate^ by Guy le Strange j and the work
of Chau Ju-Kua termed Chu-fan-chi^ or " Description of Barbarous Peoples," translated
and edited by F. Hirth and W. W. Rockhill. The two former books are valuable
standard works, and the latter I have also found most useful.

76 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

China date from the ninth century. The voyages of a
merchant called Sulayman and of Ibn Wahab of Basra
were undertaken in the first and second half of this
century respectively, and from the account of them given
in the Salsalat-al-Tawarikh^ or " Chain of Chronicles/' by
Sayyid Hasan, of Siraf in the Persian Gulf, we learn that
the voyages started from this port. The route taken was
by Maskat, Kulam and the Nicobar Islands, to Kalah
in the Malay Peninsula, from which it was about a
month's sail to Canton. So important was the foreign
colony, according to Sulayman, that a Moslem was ap-
pointed at Canton by the Chinese to maintain order
among his co-religionists.

Moslem travellers also traversed the Indian Ocean
and probably reached Madagascar to the south, while to
the north the steppes of Russia were penetrated by the
same merchant-explorers. The voyages preserved to us
in the " Adventures of Sindbad the Sailor," in the guise of
charming stories abounding with marvels, give us a
delightful picture of the world as it was known to the
Moslem mariner and merchant, and are worthy of study
from that point of view alone.

Among the famous Moslems may be reckoned the
three great geographers, Istakhri, an inhabitant of Istakhr,
Ibn Haukal, and Mukaddasi. These scientific authorities
succeeded Ibn Khurdadbih,^ the Postmaster-General of the
Caliphate, who in the preceding century drew up what
may best be described as a " Route Book," in which he
tabulated the distances and other information concerning
the various routes leading from Baghdad. The systematic
geographers of the tenth century describe fully each
province of the Caliphate on an ordered system, giving
also the main^trunk routes incidentally in connexion with
their descriptions. The work of Ibn Haukal is but a new
edition of the Persian geographer, with certain modifica-
tions. Istakhri treats of his native province of Pars in
considerable detail, whereas Ibn Haukal treats all the
provinces in the same proportion.

Mukaddasi, their contemporary, "wrote his geography

^ Dawn of Modern Geography, vol. i. p. 425 fF.

L THE GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM 77

entirely on independent lines and chiefly from his personal
observation of the divers provinces. His work is
probably the greatest, it is certainly the most original,
of all those which the Arab geographers composed." ^
It is not possible in the space at my disposal to give
details of the trade routes which connected the Caliphate
with every quarter of Europe and Asia, but I cannot
omit a reference to Rei, on the great trunk route from
west to east, where the Slav merchants who had de-
scended the Volga from the north met the traders from
the Levant. Elsewhere I have spoken of Persia as the
" Highway of the Nations,'' and this fact by itself would
go far to justify the description.

We now come to the science of geography. Mamun
" created the first true school of geographical science
which had been seen since the days of the Anionines. . . .
An observatory was founded at Baghdad where attempts
were made to determine the obliquity of the ecliptic.
Once again Mamun caused a simultaneous measurement
to be taken, in Syria and in Mesopotamia, of a space of
two degrees of the terrestrial meridian." ^

It would be weU if Europeans who are sometimes
apt in ignorance to depreciate the East would contrast
the state of learning, of science, of literature, and of the
arts among Moslems in this century with the deep
darkness which then covered Europe. It is not too
much to say that in all these departments of intellectual
activity the East was incomparably superior to the then
benighted West, and this continued true during a period
of some five hundred years ; for not until the twelfth
century did Christendom cease to depend on the East for
its light. Ex Oriente lux : no aphorism ever crystallized
a profounder truth.

The Mutazila Sect, — It would be improper in any
account of the golden age of Islam, however brief, to
pass over without at least some mention the special
doctrine which won the adherence of the Caliph and his
Court.^ The Mutazila, or " Seceders," represented the

* Lands of the Eastern Caliphatey p. 13.

^ Dawn of Geography, vol. i. p. 409.

* This brief reference is founded on chap. viii. of Browne's great work.

78 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

protest of human understanding against the tyranny of
the orthodox teaching, and their tenets were in effect a
cry for freedom of action. They opposed the orthodox
doctrine of predestination, which represented the Deity
as punishing man for sins which he had been preordained
to commit. They equally opposed the dogma which
made the Koran coeternal and coexistent with God.
The Caliphs Mamun, Motasim, and Wathik embraced
the views of this seceding sect ; but instead of allowing
freedom to the orthodox Moslems, they treated them
with fanatical intolerance, until persecution brought about
the inevitable reaction, and the political power of the
sect, which under these three Caliphs had been supreme,
ceased shortly after the accession of Mutawakkil, the
tenth in succession of the House of Abbas.

Motasim^ a.h. 218-227 (833-842). — Mamun before
his death issued a rescript by the terms of which his
brother Abu Ishak succeeded to the Caliphate under the
title of Motasim. His reign resembled that of his
brother, freedom of discussion being allowed except as
regards the dogmas of the Mutazila sect, dissent from
which involved the penalty of death.

The Mamelukes and the Founding of Samarra. — At the
beginning of the reign of Haroun a Turkish general was
appointed to supreme military command of the army
operating in the West. This was forty-eight years before
the accession of Motasim, and during that period
thousands of Mamelukes or "owned'* slaves had been
imported every year from Central Asia to fill the ranks
of the army and to supply the royal body-guard. Many
of these men won the Caliph's favour, and gradually they
displaced the Arabs, who returned to their deserts. The
evils of this system were apparent from the first, but
the more the Arabs resented the Caliph's foreign body-
guard, the more Motasim leaned on the Turks, until
in course of time they usurped all power and authority ;
ultimately they founded the Mameluke dynasty of
Egypt.

The legend runs that the Caliph when riding one day
in Baghdad was accosted by an old Arab Shaykh, who

L THE GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM 79

complained in homely but forcible language that there
was no escape from the insolence and rapine of the
Turks. This so upset Motasim that he never again
rode abroad in Baghdad, but founded a new city at
Samarra, some sixty miles above the capital.

The Revolt of the Jatt or Gypsies. — Under the orders
of Walid L, at the beginning of the eighth century of
our era, a large number of Jatt, termed Zott by the Arabs,
had been transported with their buffaloes from the lower
Indus to the marches of the Tigris.^ As soon as they
were firmly established there they began to rob and to
kill. By closing the Basra-Baghdad road they raised the
cost of food in the capital, and compelled successive
Caliphs to send armies to subdue them. Their insolence
is expressed in the following poem, preserved in the pages
of Tabari :

O inhabitants of Baghdad die ! May your dismay last long ! . . .
It is we who have defeated you, after having forced you

to fight us in the open country.
It is we who have driven you in front of us

like a flock of weaklings,

Mamun's generals were unsuccessful in dealing with
the elusive scourge, and Motasim*s first care was to
send Ojayf, a trusted Arab general, to subdue this alien
people. Ultimately, in a.h. 220 (834), Ojayf succeeded
in his task by cutting their communications. The Zott
surrendered, and after being exhibited in boats to the
delighted citizens of Baghdad, wearing their national garb
and playing their musical instruments, were exiled to
Khanikin on the Turkish frontier — now a stage on the
Teheran road — and to the frontiers of Syria, whither
they proceeded, taking with them their buffaloes. These
useful animals they can claim to have introduced into the
Near East and into Europe.

The Capture of Babek^ a.h. 222 (837). — Motasim's
most successful general was Afshin, who, after two years

^ I would refer to the deeply interesting Memoirt sur les migrations des Tsiganes a
travers VAsie by Professor de Goeje. Some years ago, I collected vocabularies of the
Gypsy dialect in both the Kerman and the Khorasan provinces j vide Journal Anthro-
pological Institute, vol. xxxii., 1902, p. 339) ^"^^ vol. xxxvi., July-December, 1906.

8o HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

of hard fighting in the neighbourhood of Ardebil, destroyed
the power of Babek. This man had been a scourge of the
Caliphate for twenty years, in the course of which he had
defeated six armies and occasioned the slaughter of a
quarter of million men and taken thousands of men and
women prisoners. After his final defeat by Afshin, Babek
fled, but was handed over to the Caliph by an Armenian
prince with whom he had taken sanctuary, and was put
to a cruel death.

The account of his execution and that of his brother
practically terminates Tabari's valuable history. The
historian himself was born two years after this incident,
but he only briefly summarizes the events of his own

time.

The Campaign against the Greeks^ a.h. 223 (838). —
Like Mamun, Motasim was a man of energy and
active habit, and when he heard that the Greeks were
ravaging Syria he asked which was their strongest fortress.
Being told Amorium, he advanced on it with a powerful
army. Theophilus, the Greek Emperor, was defeated in
a pitched battle, and, as his army was not able to face the
Moslems, he was doomed to inaction while Amorium was
besieged. After a successful resistance for nearly two
months, a weak point in the fortifications was pointed
out by a renegade and the fortress was destroyed, its
garrison being treated with much cruelty.

The Later Tears of Motasim' s Reign. — The later years
of Motasim were disturbed by a conspiracy headed by
Ojayf, who viewed with jealousy the increase in power
of the Turks. The insurrection was put down with
barbarous cruelty, and shortly afterwards Afshin fell from
favour and was put to death. Although arrested for
treachery and embezzlement, the religious fanaticism of
Motasim caused him to be tried and condemned for
holding Zoroastrian doctrines and for secret hostility to
Islam.

Wathik^ A.H. 227-232 (842-847). — Wathik, who suc-
ceeded his father, Motasim, in a.h. 227 (842), was the
son of a Greek slave-girl. He marked his accession by
" squeezing " his ministers, some of whom were beaten

THE GOLDEN AGE OF ISLAM 8i

" to encourage the others." Disturbances broke out in
Persia, where the Kurds rebelled, and in Palestine and
Syria there were dangerous risings, which, however, were
put down, mainly by Turkish generals. A conspiracy
caused by the intolerance of the Caliph failed, and Wathik
might have reigned for many years and advanced the ex-
ploration of the countries to the North, in which he was
deeply interested.-^ But his constitution had been ruined
by dissipation. He suffered from incessant thirst, and the
curious remedy was prescribed of exposure in an oven.
The oven was overheated, possibly by design, and Wathik
perished. With his short, inglorious reign the golden
period of Islam came to an end.

1 Daivn of Modern Geography^ vol. i. p. 414.

VOL. II G

Amu-ul-Lais,

CHAPTKR IJ

THE DECAY OF THE CALIPHATE AND THIi REVIVAL
OF PERSIAN INDEPENDENCK

If I live, the sword shall dcciMc l)elwcen ua : if I co/ujucr, I will do as I
please ; if thou art virtoriouB, bread and onions are my fare ; and neither thou
nor fortune can triumph ov< r a man accustomed to 'uicli (h'el, — 'I he McMagc
of Yakue bin Lals to the Cami»h MoiAMiu.

The Orthodox Reaction under Mutawakkil^ a.h. 232-247
(847-861). — The reign of Mutawakkil is chiefly important
as marking the period of orthodox reaction. The
Mutazilite doctrines were abjured and their professors
in turn underwent persecution of the most cruel and
vindictive nature. J^qually strong was the hatred which
the new Caliph displayed against the House of Ali ; he
even encouraged his buffoon to dress up as "The Lion of
Allah," while "Behold the pot-bellied bald one, the
Caliph of Islam ! " was sung in derision, 'i'he tomb of
Husayn was destroyed and the site ploughed up. More-
over, Mutawakkil was fanatically opposed to Jews and
Christians, against whom obsolete laws were revived.
They were bound to paint the figure of Satan on the door-
posts of their houses, were subject to special taxes, were
obliged to wear a distinctive dull yellow dress,' and were
debarred from holding any Government appointment.
Indeed, their very children were forbidden to learn Arabic.

The Palace of Samarra and the Cypress of Kishmar, —
The Caliph himself was a dissolute and extravagant
voluptuary, and in the neighbourhood of Samarra he

' The Zoro;i.',f.ri;jn» of YczcJ and Kcrman -dm still obliged to wear th'«<: " honcy-
colourcd gown»."

CHAP. LI DECAY OF THE CALIPHATE 83

built a new palace which cost untold sums of money.
Connected with it is the legend of Kishmar, already
mentioned in Chapter IX. as the meeting-place of
Zoroaster and King Gustasp. It is stated that in order
to commemorate this event the Prophet of Iran planted
a cypress, which grew to a prodigious size and was
regarded as sacred by the Zoroastrians. The fanatical
Caliph ordered the tree, which was believed by that time
to be 1450 years old, to be felled, and, although large
sums were offered to save it, it was cut down and trans-
ported in sections to Samarra ; but according to the
legend Mutawakkil was slain by his son on the day these
reached the palace. The story has some value as indicat-
ing the hold that Zoroastrianism still retained in the
province then known as Kuhistan. Incidentally, too, it
affords some help towards fixing the date of *the meeting
between Zoroaster and Gustasp.

The Tahiri 'Dynasty^ a.h. 205-259 (820-872). —
Mention has already been made of Tahir, the famous
• general of Mamun who governed Khorasan. Under his
sons Nishapur succeeded Merv as the capital of what was
a semi -independent dynasty holding sway in Khorasan
for over half a century. The princes of this family were
unambitious and made no attempt to fish in troubled
waters, and the dynasty collapsed with little resistance
when attacked by the Saffarids in a.h. 259 (872). In
1909 I came across a small section of the Tahiri tribe
in the district of Turshiz to the south of Nishapur ; I was
also informed that irrigation pipes are occasionally found
stamped with the name of this dynasty.^

A Period of Anarchy^ a.h. 247-256 (861-870). —
Mutawakkil having alienated his eldest son, Muntassir, by
grossly abusing him when under the influence of drink, a
conspiracy of Turkish officers was formed in the interest
of the heir-apparent, and the Caliph was murdered in his
sleep. Muntassir succeeded, but died within a year, and
a period of anarchy ensued, during which Baghdad under-
went a second siege, and the Turkish soldiers made and
murdered caliphs at their pleasure. Rebellions, too,

1 Journal R.G.S. for February 191 1.

84 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

broke out in every part of the Empire, and the dis-
integration of the Caliphate was hastened by the anarchy
at headquarters, which paralysed all attempts at repression
and left the provincial governors without support.

The Rise of the Saffar Dynasty. — During the Caliphate
of Mutawakkil a certain Salih ibn Nasr collected a body
of men in Sistan under the pretext of crushing an out-
break of Kharijites, and seized the province. The
Tahirid prince marched to Sistan in person and succeeded
in putting an end to the fighting between Salih and the
Kharijites, but upon his departure Salih again took the
field and was apparently allowed to hold the province
without further molestation.

Among his most able adherents was a certain Yakub
bin Lais, known as SafFar, or " the Coppersmith," from
the trade pursued by his family. This extraordinary
adventurer, who while still a boy was noted for his
generosity, upon reaching manhood took to highway
robbery, which has frequently been a road to distinction
in Persia. His generosity and courage speedily brought
him success and a large following, which he placed at the
disposal of Salih, and in a.h. 247 (861), the year in which
Mutawakkil was assassinated, he became commander or
the army of Sistan under Salih's successor. His first
success was the capture of Herat in a.h. 253 (876), and
having overrun and annexed Kerman^ and subsequently
Pars, he soon became ruler of an extensive kingdom.
He founded a short-lived dynasty which is remembered
with much affection by Persians, both because they
consider it to be the first Persian dynasty after the Arab
conquest, and also because it sprang from Sistan, the
home of Rustam and of the Keianian line.

Motamid^ a.h. 256-279 (870-892). — After nine years
of anarchy, Motamid, the eldest surviving son of
Mutawakkil, was elected Caliph. The Court returned
to Baghdad, where Turkish influence was less strong,
and guided by Motamid's brother, Muaffak, who actually

1 Many years ago I was allowed to see and make a precis of an old manuscript
history of Bam by a certain Sayyid Tahir-u-Din ibn Shams-u-Din of Bam. In it
Yakub and his brother are praised, the former for improving the city of Jiruft and the
latter for building a mosque in it.

Too.^-'^

StxinfoT-d.'s Geog . £r«ta2> *^ondoyv-

Lr DECAY OF THE CALIPHATE 85

ruled the Empire, the apparently moribund Caliphate
regained vigour and prestige.

The Zanj Insurrection^ a.h. 255-270 (869-883). — No
saying is truer than that history repeats itself, and the
insurrection of the Zanj or "Ethiopians" resembles
closely the Servile War headed by Spartacus which con-
vulsed the republic of Rome in the seventh decade b.c.
The Persian who headed the rising pretended to be
descended from Ali, and at first laid claim to a spiritual
leadership, but this pretension was soon forgotten and he
merely appealed to the slaves, to whom he promised
liberty and plunder. After meeting with scant success
in Arabia, he occupied the country round Basra, including
the lower valley of the Karun, where thousands of slaves
and many Beduin flocked to his standards. Again and
again the imperial armies were defeated, and* Basra itself
was stormed by the Zanj and given over to pillage and
massacre. The hordes then spread southward along both
coasts of the Persian Gulf, and northward till they captured
Wasit and sacked Ahwaz. At last Muaffak, who had
hitherto not been free to devote his entire attention to
this serious outbreak, concentrated a large force ; the
Zanj were surrounded in the difficult and marshy district
of the lower delta, and, after fifteen years of massacre
and rapine, Khabis^ or " the Reprobate," was slain and
thousands of prisoners were released.

The Brilliant Career of Takub bin Lais, — We must
here return to Yakub bin Lais and follow his career to
its close. In a.h. 257 (871) he sent an envoy to Muaifak
with instructions to state that his master deemed himself
a humble slave of the Caliph, to whom he proposed to
offer his respects in person. As it was thought desirable
to keep Yakub as far away from Baghdad as possible,
the Caliph bestowed on him the governments of
Balkh, Tokharistan, and other distant eastern provinces.
Strengthened by his appointment as a high official of the
Caliphate, Yakub was everywhere victorious, even distant
Kabul being captured, together with its Turkish king,
who was a Buddhist. At length the Sistan adventurer
was ready to attack the Tahirid prince, who had apparently

U HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

been a passive spectator of conquests which had robbed
him of many of his provinces, and who offered no des-
perate resistance. Having mastered Khorasan, Yakub
proceeded to attack neighbouring Tabaristan. At Sari
he defeated Hasan bin Zayd, its independent prince of
the House of Ali, but, pursuing him towards Gilan, he
lost most of his men in the pestilential swamps, and per-
force returned to Sistan to recruit.

Yakub was now master of half Persia, in addition to
many eastern provinces, and, elated by a succession of
victorious campaigns, in a.h. 262 (875) he decided to
try conclusions with the CaHph himself. He began with
a formal demand for the province of Pars ; Motamid not
only refused this, but " dismissed " the conqueror from
the governorship of Khorasan. Yakub immediately
advanced on Baghdad, and near the capital met Muaffak,
who defeated him with heavy loss, which included his
entire camp. Yakub, however, was not discouraged,
but, returning to Pars, prepared to raise a new army.
His self-confidence was so great that he refused with
scorn an offer of assistance from the Zanj leader, which
he answered in the words of the Koran, " I worship not
that which ye worship ; neither do ye worship that which
I worship.'*

Three years later, in a.h. 265 (878), the Caliph sent
an embassy of friendly remonstrance to Yakub. When
it arrived the great adventurer lay dying, with his sword
by his side and a crust and onions ready to be served for
his coarse meal. In this state he received the envoy, and
gave the reply which forms the heading to this chapter ;
shortly afterwards he died.

The Origin of the Ismaili Sect, — As stated in Chapter
XLVII., the doctrine of the Imamate, by which one of
the descendants of Ali must be invested with supreme
spiritual leadership and was endowed with supernatural
and semi-divine attributes, was a fundamental article of
belief among the Shias. The first six Imams,^ as far as
Jafar as-Sadik, who died in a.d. 765 during the reign of
Mansur, were universally accepted, but Jafar, who had
in the first instance designated his son Ismail to succeed

DECAY OF THE CALIPHATE 87

him, later cut him out of the spiritual succession in favour
of a younger son Musa, known as Kazim. The reason
for this action is stated to have been that Ismail had
drunk the forbidden wine. Shortly after this, and during
the lifetime of Jafar, Ismail, the disinherited son, died.
This act of disinheritance divided the Shias, for, although
the large majority followed Musa, a considerable minority
remained faithful to Ismail or rather, as he had never
been Imam, to his son Mohamed, whom they believed
to be the seventh and last Imam.

The Carmathians, — The first missionary of the Ismaili
faith in Irak during the Caliphate of Motazid was a certain
Hamdan, surnamed Carmat, after whom the adherents
of the doctrine were nicknamed Carmathians. He offered
to join the Zanj leader, the " Reprobate," with one hundred
thousand men, but they differed in their tenets and were
unable to combine. Little seems to be known of Carmat's
life, but he fell by the hands of an assassin. Later, the
sons of a certain Zakaria, and after their capture and
execution Zakaria himself, became leaders of the sect and
engaged in savage wars.^

At the beginning of the fourth century of the Hijra
Basra was stormed by Sulayman, yet another fanatic, and
afterwards Kufa, and the terrible anarchy culminated in the
sack of Mecca in a.h. 317 (929) and the carrying away of
the Black Stone. After this the storm subsided and the
sect was weakened by dissensions, but the recorded fact that
in A.H. 396 (985) Multan was governed by a Carmathian
shows how for its power and influence reached. These
sects, all of whom fought against society, constitute one
of the darkest sides to Islam. As will be seen later, their
doctrines continued to be preached in Persia.

The Rise of the Samanid Dynasty. — More powerful
than the Tahirid or SafKirid families, which flourished in
the one case only just over, and in the other just under,
half a century, was the Samanid dynasty, which endured
for a century and a quarter. Its founder was Saman, a
Persian nobleman or Balkh, descended from Bahram

^ Al-biruni in his Chronology of Ancier.t Nations devotes a chapter to the eras of the
Pseudo-Prophets, to which I would refer the curious reader. The best account of the
Carmathians is in Encycl, Religion and Ethta^ vol. iii. p. 222.

88 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Chubin. Being driven away from his native town he
appealed to Asad ibn AbduUa, who was governor of
Khorasan under Mehdi and strongly espoused his cause.
In gratitude for the help thus aflForded, Saman, who had
until then remained a follower of the old religion, not
only became a convert to Islam, but named his son Asad
as a compliment to his protector. Saman had four sons,
who served Haroun and materially aided in putting down
the rebeUion of Rafi. Mamun in recognition of these
services gave to the four brothers the governorships of
Samarcand, Farghana, Shash, and Herat, and under the
Tahirid dynasty these grants were confirmed.

The ablest member of the family was Ahmad, who
was succeeded by his son Nasr, and it would appear that
upon the downfall of the Tahirids the Samanids retained
their position, probably by an arrangement made with
Yakub bin Lais, though the details are obscure. At any
rate, in a.h. 261, or two years after the overthrow of the
Tahirids by Yakub, Nasr and his brother Ismail are found
to be in possession of the provinces across the Oxus, and
this year is taken as the date of the foundation of the
dynasty. Ismail showed conspicuous military capacity,
but the two brothers quarrelled and a civil war ensued
in which Ismail emerged the victor. With remarkable
generosity .he permitted Nasr to retain the government
until his death in a.h. 279 (892).

The Career of Amr-ul-Lats^ a.h. 265-290 (878-
903). — After the death of Yakub his brother Amr made
peace with the Caliph and ruled Khorasan and other pro-
vinces for six years as his deputy. He was then dismissed
by Motamid, who by that time felt strong enough to deal
with him. But he lingered on at Nishapur, which he
loved, and the following lines which are attributed to him
give his lament :

Its stones are turquoises, its bushes rhubarb.

And its dust edible clay.^ How could I leave such a land ?

The province, however, together with an army, was
assigned to Rafi ibn Harthama, who defeated the Saffarid

^ This is found in various parts of Khorasan and is eaten more especially by
pregnant women j 'v'lde "A Sixth Journey in Persia," Journal R.G.S., January 1911.

DECAY OF THE CALIPHATE 89

and drove him back to his native Sistan. In a.h. 279
(870) Motamid was succeeded by Motazid, who, reversing
his brother^s pohcy, reappointed Amr to Khorasan.
Presumably the Caliph realized his weakness and sought
to play off Amr against the powerful Rafi and the still more
powerful Ismail. In a.h. 283(896) Amr took possession
of Nishapur, defeating Rafi, whom he captured and slew,
and whose head he sent to Baghdad. Intoxicated by this
success, the victor demanded that Ismail should be dis-
missed from Transoxiana, and the Caliph with characteristic
duplicity seems to have encouraged him to attack the
Samanid ruler, whom he at the same time encouraged to
resist. The campaign, after a keen struggle, ended in
A.H. 288 (900) in the siege and capture of Balkh, where
Amr was made prisoner. One of the famous stories of
the East relates to his fall. A servant, it is said, while
cooking some meat for the captive leader, left the pot for
a moment to procure some salt. A dog tried to snatch
the meat, but the handle of the pot fell on its neck, and
as it bolted, pot and all, Amr exclaimed : " This morning
three hundred camels bore my kitchen, and to-night a
dog has carried it off! '* Amr also figures in a polo story
in the Kabus Nama^ from which it appears that he was
one eyed.

Ismail was prepared to treat his captive generously,
but the Caliph insisted on his being sent to Baghdad,
where he was executed in a.h. 290 (903). He was
succeeded by his son, who held Sistan for only a year,
after which the power of the short-lived dynasty came to
an abrupt end ; although Sistan for a few generations and
Baluchistan for many centuries continued to be governed
by scions of the Saflarid House.^

The Samanid Dynasty at its Zenith. — Upon the death
of Nasr, Ismail succeeded and began a career of conquest
which raised his principality to a kingdom. Curiously
enough, his first campaign was a Holy War against the
Christian settlement of Taraz, which resulted in its
conquest and the conversion to Islam of its Amir and

^ Ten Thousand Mi/eSy etc., p. 539.
^ yiiie Ten Thousand M'tUiy etc.y p. 229.

90 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

leading inhabitants. The defeat and capture of Amr in
A.H. 288 (900)5 recorded in the preceding section, were
the culminating success of his career, and were rewarded
by a patent from the Caliph appointing him to the
governorship of Khorasan, Turkestan, Transoxiana, Sind,
Hind, and Jurgan. Though, as Vamb^ry points out in
his History of Bokhara^ the names of Hind and Sind were
inserted merely by way of idle boast, Ismail's kingdom
was a great one, and he was not content to rest on his
laurels, but conducted successful campaigns against the
Turks to the East.

Ismail chose Bokhara as his capital, and to him it
mainly owes its title of Sharif^ or Noble. Its fort dates
back to the time of this great Samanid, who gathered
round him a brilliant galaxy of historians, poets, and
doctors of law, and brought in the golden age of the city
on the Zarafshan.

Ismail was succeeded by Ahmad, who was murdered
in A.H. 301 (913) after an inglorious reign. Nasr, his
son, a boy of eight, then ascended the throne, and during
a reign of thirty years extended the possessions of the
dynasty by annexing Rei, Kum, and Isfahan, at the request
of the Caliph, to whom the dynasty rendered homage and
nominal obedience. Nasr II. was the Mamun of the
Samanid dynasty, and we have the following account of
the glories of his court from a contemporary, Abdul
Malik of Nishapur, who writes : " Bokhara was, under
the Samanid rule, the Focus of Splendour, the Shrine of
Empire, the Meeting-place of the most unique intellects
of the Age, the Horizon of the literary stars of the World,
and the fair of the greatest scholars of the Period." ^

Its Decay and Downfall, — Nasr was succeeded by Noh
or Noah, under whom the dynasty decayed, its kings
falling under the influence of Turkish slaves who were
promoted to the highest posts. Noh was followed by
Abdul Malik, the patron of Alptigin, who was killed at
polo after a rule of seven years ; his brother Mansur
revived the prestige of the dynasty by exacting a tribute
from the Daylami rulers of Irak and Fars. NohlL, who

^ Quoted from Browne, op. cit. p. 365.

DECAY OF THE CALIPHATE 91

succeeded Mansur, suffered a series of vicissitudes, and is
chiefly famous as having been cured by Abu Ali bin Sina,
the great Avicenna. His nobles conspired against him
and invited Boghra Khan,^ who from his capital at
Kashgar ruled over a confederacy of Turkish tribes, to
invade the Samanid kingdom. Boghra Khan captured
Bokhara but died shordy afterwards, and Noh, who had
become a fugitive, returned. His nobles then fled to
Khorasan, where they obtained help from the Daylami
prince, and Noh in despair summoned to his aid
Sabaktagin, who had founded the state of Ghazna at the
expense of the Samanid dynasty. He readily sent a
force which won a decisive victory near Herat, the batde
being chiefly memorable as the first in which his son
Mahmud, the future champion of Islam, fought, winning
thereby as his reward from the grateful Noh the province
of Khorasan : other victories were gained at Nishapur
and at Tus.

Mansur II., the son and successor of Noh, was a poet
of whose compositions fragments have been preserved.
In reply to his companions who asked _ the distracted
monarch why he never put off armour, he explained :

They ask me why fine robes I do not wear.
Nor covet stately tent with carpets rare.
'Midst clash of arms, what boots the minstrel's power ?
'Midst rush of steeds, what place for rose-girt bower ?
Nor wine nor sweet-lipped Saki aught avail
Where blood is splattered o'er the coats of mail.
Arms, horse for me, banquet and bower enow.
Tulip and lily mine the dart and bow.^

This martial sovereign did not live to see the extinction
of his proud dynasty, but his successor, Abdul Malik, the
last of his line, was seized by Ilak Khan, of the Turkish
dynasty mentioned above, and thrown into prison, where
he died. The capture of Abdul Malik took place in
A.H. 389 (999)5 and this date marks the downfall of the
Samanid dynasty, after a splendid though not unchequered
career of exacdy a century and a quarter.

1 The dynasty is termed the Ilak Khans of Turkestan by Stanley Lane-Poole in
his Mohamedan Dynasties^ and the Kara-Khanides by Skrine and Ross in The Heart

of Asia.

2 Quoted from Browne, op. cit. p. 409.

92 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Thz Ziyarid Dynas:y^ a.h. 316—434 (928—1042), —
During the reign of Nasr II. the province of Tabaristan
was recovered for the House of Ali by Hasan bin Ali-
Utrushj but a few years later, in a.h. 316 (928), a
certain Mardawij bin Ziyar contrived to seize it and
to occupy Isfahan and the country beyond Hainadan as
far as Hohvan. He established a dynasty which was
noted for its devotion to learninor and which endured for
rather over a century, although no member except its
founder played a leading r61e on the stage of Persia.
The best known of his successors ^vas Kabus, a.h. 366—
403 (976-1012), the patron of .AJ-biruni, who dedicated
to him his famous Chronology of Ancient Nations
and resided at his court for manv vears. Nor was he
merely a patron of letters : he was himself a poet of
no mean order, writing both in Arabic and in Persian.^
In the latter language he composed an exquisite quatrain,
translated as follows :

Mirth's King the Rose is, Wine Joy's Herald eke ;
Hence from these two do I ray pleasure seek ;
Would'st thou, O IMoon, inquire the cause of this ?
AMne's taste thy lips recalls, the Rose thy cheek !

The career of Kabus was extremely chequered. He
protected Fakhr-u-Dola, one of the Buwayhid princes,
against his two brothers, the powerful Azud-u-Dola and
the Muayyid-u-Dola, and in consequence was driven out
of his princedom for many years. Upon his return,
although he was famed for " his learning, piety, munifi-
cence, magnanimity, wisdom, prudence, and intelligence,"^
his nobles, exasperated by his cruelty, deposed him and
afterwards had him secretly murdered.

In 1908 I visited his tomb, which, as Ibn Isfiindiyar
states, is "outside Gurgan on the road to Khorasan." As
the illustration shows, it is a lofty decagon with a curious
conical roof, which is visible for miles across the level
steppe. The Kutic inscription, which is in duplicate bands

^ Browne, v/. aV. p. 470.

3 Vldi Ibn Ist'andiyar's HiiW^-^of Ti:l'jristi:.'u which is a mine of information about
this period. In the Kahus -N'jmj an amusing story is given to prove how well informetl
Kabus kept himself of what went on at the neighbouring courts. /':./«• Ouerrv's
translation, p. 41 -?.

;? pfipi wf

Fitv/i a photograpli l>y Major J. If. U'ntsoii.

I'lIK GLINB.\I)-I-K.\ru;S.

LI DECAY OF THE CALIPHATE 93

of brickwork, states that " this lofty grave was built by
the orders of Shams-ul-Maali, the Amir, son of the Amir
Kabus, son of Washmgir, during his lifetime, in a.h. 375
(997)-**^ It is one of the oldest buildings with a
known date in North-Eastern Persia. Kabus's grandson,
Kei Kaus, bin Iskandar, bin Kabus, was the author of
the famous Kabus Nama^ which gives rules of life in a
delightful manner and is accessible to the European
world through a French translation.

The Buwayhid or Daylamite Dynasty^ a.h. 320-447
(932-1055). — The founder of the Ziyarid House quite
unconsciously assisted to found another dynasty far more
powerful than his own, by bestowing the governorship
of Karaj, a district to the south of Hamadan, on Ali bin
Buwayha, who, aided by his two capable brothers, soon
extended his power southwards to the province of Fars,
which he occupied. This family sprang from a Persian
tribe in Daylam which claimed descent from Bahram Gur ^
and professed Shia doctrines. Ali seems to have been a
favourite of fortune. After his conquest of Fars he was
one day lying on a couch in the palace at Shiraz when he
observed a snake dart out its head from a hole. Calling
for masons to break down the wall, he found a secret
chamber, in which was collected the entire treasure of
Yakut, the dispossessed Governor, who had represented the
Caliph. Shortly afterwards a tailor came to Ali for orders,
and upon his sending for a stick with which to measure
cloth, the man, mistaking his intention, threw himself
at his feet and said that if his life were spared he would
give up all Yakut's cloth, which he was at once allowed

to do !

Ahmad, the most famous of Ali's brothers, em-
barked on a career of conquest ; details of his exploits
in the Kerman province can be gleaned from the local
histories.^ It appears that Kerman city was held by a

1 "A Sixth Journey in Persia," Journal R.G.S. for January 191 1.

2 Al-biruni (Sachau's edition), pp. 4.5-4.6, does not allow the genuineness of this claim.

3 I have made a precis of two histories of Kerman : (a) The history of Afzal-u-
Din, known as Afzal Kermani. This was written in a.h. 584 (1188) for Malik Dinar,
who' was then ruler of Kerman. The manuscript was lithographed at Teheran in
A.D. 1876. It deals mainly with the sixth century of the Hijra and contains some
interesting information, {h) The history of Mohamed Ibrahim, who, from a remark

94 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

robber called Mohamed ibn llias but known as Abu Ali,
and when Ahmad, having captured Sirjan, was besieging
Kerman, Abu Ali adopted the unusual course of fighting
by day and sending gifts by night, with the result that he
was allowed to keep Kerman on the condition that he
paid tribute. In an expedition to Jiruft the Buwayhid
prince was ambushed in the Dilfard pass, and according
to the chronicler escaped with only a few men and the
loss of one of his hands. This, however, was merely a
temporary reverse, and marching westwards he annexed
Fars in conjunction with his brothers in a.h. 322 (934).

The Caliph was obliged to recognize the conquerors as
his lieutenants. After organizing the captured provinces,
Ahmad first moved westward and annexed Khuzistan,
and ultimately in a.h. 334 (945) entered Baghdad, where
the Caliph perforce welcomed him, bestowing on him the
title of Muizz-u-Dola and the rank of Amtr-ul-Omara^ or
"Amir of Amirs," which was held by the family for many
generations.^ The unfortunate Caliph was subsequently
deposed, and his successors were puppets in the hands
of the Buwayhid chiefs, who retained all power for about
a century.

It is beyond the scope of this work to deal in detail
with the three families of Fars, Irak, and Rei, into which
the dynasty broke up ; but I will attempt to give briefly
some of the leading events of the period. Muizz-u-Dola
died in a,h. 356 (967), and the next great member of the
dynasty was Azud-u-Dola, who held the post of Vizier
to the puppet Caliph and ruled Irak and Fars. His
operations against his brother Fakhr-u-Dola have already
been referred to in connexion with Kabus. He was an
exceptionally enlightened prince, who encouraged pilgrims
by restoring the sacred buildings at Medina, Najaf, and
Kerbela. Moreover, he established hospitals for the
poor of Baghdad, appointing physicians with regular

made by him, appears to have travelled to Sistan in a.h. 1025 (1636). The manuscript
of this work was published by Houtsma in a.d. 1886. It deals with ihc Seljuks of
Kerman and gives the chief events of the province from a.h. 433 (1041) to a.h. 619
(1222), i.e. up to the era of the Kutlugh Khans.

^ Curiously enough, this high-sounding title is now used only in writing to nomad
chiefs of secondary importance, such as the Ilkhani of Kuchan or the Chief of the
Hazara tribe in Khorasan.

DECAY OF THE CALIPHATE 95

salaries, and purchasing drugs and other requisites. In
Fars, too, his public works were numerous, and one of
them, a dam on the river Kur, which is crossed a few
miles south of Persepolis, is still termed Band-i-Amir,
or the " Dam of the Amir," and is responsible for the
lines of Moore :

There's a bower of roses hy Bendemeer's stream,
And the nightingale sings round it all the day long.

The decay of the dynasty was rapid after the death
of the Azud-u-Dola, and Mahmud of Ghazna prepared
to attack Rei, which during the minority of the Majd-u-
Dola was ruled by his mother. This intrepid woman
returned the following reply to an envoy sent by Mahmud
to demand her submission : " Had this message been
sent in the lifetime of my deceased lord it» would have
caused serious trouble, but such is no longer the case.
I know Sultan Mahmud and am aware that he will never
undertake a campaign without weighing all the risks.
If he attacks and conquers a weak woman, where is the
glory of such an achievement .^^ If he be repulsed, the
latest ages will hear of his shame."

Whether or not Mahmud was swayed by these argu-
ments, he postponed his designs until the Majd-u-Dola
had attained his majority. Then, in a.h. 387 (997), he
sent an army which seized the person of the prince by
treachery and occupied Khorasan and Kumis. The
family, however, retained Southern Persia and Irak for
some time to come, until the Seljuks appeared on the
scene and ended the rule of this Persian dynasty.

The Dynasty of Ghazna, a.h. 351-582 (962-1186).
— Under Abdul Malik the Samanid there was a certain
Alptigin, a Turkish slave, who became commander-in-
chief in Khorasan. Upon the death of the monarch he
retired to Ghazna in the Sulayman mountains, where his
father had been governor, and there he, his son, and his
slave Balkatigin in turn ruled in obscurity. The real
founder of the famous dynasty was Sabaktagin, another
slave, who succeeded to the governorship through his
marriage with Alptigin's daughter. This truly remark-

9 6 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

able man extended his petty fief both eastwards and west-
wards, on the one hand defeating the Rajputs and seizing
Peshawar, and on the other, as already recounted, receiv-
ing Khorasan in a.h. 384 (994) from the Samanid
monarch Noh.

Sabaktagin was succeeded by Mahmud, one of the
greatest figures on the stage of Central Asia, whose twelve
campaigns in India and zeal for Islam have earned for
him the title of " Idol-breaker." These campaigns lie
outside the scope of this work, but his ultimate seizure
of Khorasan, which has already been mentioned, belongs
to Persian history. In Sistan the Conqueror found a
certain Khalaf, a grandson of Amr-ul-Lais, who* had held
the province of Kerman for some time. Of him it is
related that, in order to induce the Sistanis to support
him in his designs on that province, he arranged for his
envoys to be poisoned at Kerman and then raised an army
to avenge the outrage !

According to Persian legend, Mahmud spared the life
of Khalaf, who won his heart by addressing him as
" Sultan," and who passed the rest of his existence as
Master of Horse to the " Idol-breaker." Later on, in
A.H. 398 (1007), Khorasan was invaded by Ilak Khan,
the destroyer of the Samanid dynasty, who took advantage
of the absence of Mahmud from Central Asia. But the
great soldier speedily returned, and in a desperately con-
tested battle near Balkh gained a decisive victory, driving
the invaders into the Oxus ; some years later he also
annexed Bokhara and Samarcand. Mahmud's last
campaign was directed against the Buwayhid dynasty, and
after the capture of Isfahan he returned to Ghazna,
where he died in a.h. 421 (1030).

It is interesting to note how anxious Mahmud was
for recognition by the Caliph. He sent to Baghdad
accounts of his victories, accompanied by splendid gifts,
and in return was granted titles,^ which gave him im-
mense gratification. One of the stories of the East tells
us how, in the first decree, Mahmud was termed MVr,
which may mean either a chief or a slave, instead of Amir.

^ In Browne's op. cit. vol. ii. p. 105 his titles are given in full.

LI DECAY OF THE CALIPHATE 97

A Persian courtier explained to his furious master that
the omission of the alif or " A " conveyed a delicate
request from the Caliph's Vizier for a thousand gold
coins, the symbol for which is alif. The money was sent
and a new decree was obtained, in which Mahmud was
styled Amir. The prestige of the Caliph and the craving
for recognition by him constituted practically all that was
left of his power, but it was a force that had to be
reckoned with and was doubtless of material assistance
in maintaining the Caliphate. Soon after the death or
Mahmud the western provinces of this extensive empire
were annexed by the Seljuks, with the result that the
dynasty looked eastwards for compensation and became
thenceforth so much identified with India that Lahore
was selected as the capital of the later Ghaznavid princes.

VOL. II H

ToGHRiL Beg.

CHAPTER LII

THE COMING OF THE SELJUK TURKS

While Apulia and Sicily were subdued by the Norman lance, a swarm of
northern shepherds overspread the kingdoms of Persia ; their princes of the
race of Seljuk erected a splendid and solid empire from Samarcand to the
confines of Greece and Egypt. — Gibbon.

/ The Importance of the Seljuks, — The previous chapter
/is little more than a medley, dealing as it does with
/ numerous short-lived dynasties which seized upon various
provinces of the decrepit Caliphate and then tumbled to
L pieces mainly from internal dissensions. The advent of
a new power, the Seljuk Turks, constitutes a notable
epoch in the history of the Middle and Near East, if only
because it swept away these insignificant and divided
dynasties and once again united Islam under a single
powerful sway, stretching from Turkestan to the Medi-
terranean Sea. More than this, the Seljuks, with the
fervour of recent converts, revitalized Islam, just as the
Norsemen revitalized Christendom, and when Europe
under Norman leaders attacked the East under the
impulse of the Crusades it was the light horse of the
Seljuks which met the heavy horse of the Crusaders.-^

Their Origin, — The Seljuks were a branch of the
Ghuzz Turks, from whom, however, they kept distinct.
Their founder was Tukak (signifying a bow), the father

^ The authorities for this chapter include Browne, vol.ii., and Skrine and Ross's Heart
of Asia ; the native chronicles referred to in the previous chapter are again used, more
especially in connexion with the Seljuks of Kerman. I have also consulted a synopsis
by Browne of The Notification of Kings, by Najm-u-Din, composed in a.h. 599 (1202),
•vide art. xxvii. of Journal R.A.S. for 1902.

CH. Lii THE SELJUK TURKS 99

of Seljuk, who with his tribe crossed from Turkestan
into Transoxiana and embraced Islam with deep fervour.
He and his descendants took part in the wars of the
period, and speedily came into collision with Mahmud.
The story runs that the great Conqueror asked Israil, the
son of Seljuk, how many men followed him to battle, to
which the nomad chief replied that if he despatched an
arrow to his tents one hundred thousand men would
prepare for war, but that if his bow were seen two
hundred thousand men would join the former force.
Sultan Mahmud, alarmed at this new power, imprisoned
Israil, and, hoping probably to weaken the tribe by
moving it away from its habitat, settled it in the district
of Nisa,^ and in Abivard, near the modern Kakha on the
Central Asian Railway. The newcomers, under their
chief, Mikail, proved unruly, and in the year, before the
death of Mahmud they attempted to invade Khorasan, but
were driven back.

Masud of Ghazna, — Masud, the son of Mahmud, was
from the outset unfortunate. After he had deposed his
brother, not only was Khorasan attacked by the ferocious
Ghuzz, who were destined to play a sinister part in Iran,
but a rebellion broke out at the same time in India. To
add to his misfortunes, Khorasan also rebelled, owing to
being unprotected from the Ghuzz ; and the Ziyarid
prince of Gurgan and Tabaristan and the Governor of
Khwarazm both seized the opportunity to throw off their
allegiance. But Masud was no weakling, and in a.h. 426
(1035) ^^ brought a large army from India, drove the
Ghuzz from Tus and Nishapur, and invaded Tabaristan,
which submitted. He then left Khorasan and busied
himself with his possessions in India, to which he attached
greater importance, probably because they yielded a larger
revenue.

The Founding of the Seljuk Dynasty^ a.h. 429 (1037).
— To return to the Seljuks, Mikail, the brother of Israil,
had two sons famous as Toghril (or " Falcon '*) and
Chakir, to whom Masud had recourse in the operations
against the Ghuzz aiid who aided him in driving these

^ The site of Nisa is ten miles to the south-west of Askabad.

loo HISTORY OF PERSIA chap,

invaders out of Khorasan. But they were faithless allies,
and the very next year, after the departure of Masud,
Chakir Beg attacked and defeated the Ghaznavid general
near Merv. In the following year Chakir captured
Merv, and in a.h. 429 (1037) Toghril seized Nishapur.
Khorasan thus passed into his hands, and Lane-Poole
appropriately dates the foundation of the Seljuk dynasty
from this important event. Masud, who had been unable
to concentrate his attention upon the invaders because of
disturbances in India, returned to fight for Khorasan, and
in A.H. 43 1 (1040) suffered a crushing defeat. He retired
to recruit fresh troops in India, where his army mutinied,
with the result that he was deposed and afterwards
murdered. Three years later Modud, son of Masud,
was defeated, and after this campaign the Seljuk power
was established in Khorasan, and the Ghaznavid dynasty
turned its entire attention to its Indian possessions.

The Career of Toghril Begy a.h. 429-455 (1037-1063).
— I have already mentioned Mahmud's craving for
recognition by the Caliph and for a grant of titles. Upon
the defeat of the son of Masud similar recognition was
sought by the Seljuk victors, in a letter wherein they
assured the Caliph of their loyalty. Needless to say,
their request was granted, Kaim causing ToghriFs name
to be read in the mosques and placed on the coins before
that of the chief of the waning Buwayhid dynasty.

The conquering Seljuks had now spread all over
Persia, which was divided up among various branches of
the ruling family, and in a.h. 447 (1005) Toghril Beg
crowned his victories by making a state visit to Baghdad.
An account of the ceremony observed on this historical
occasion has been handed down, and is of particular
interest as showing the prestige which still attached to
the Caliphate. The Seljuk conqueror, escorted by his
nobles, approached the sacred presence on foot and un-
armed. He was received by the Successor of the
Prophet, who, seated on a golden throne concealed by
hangings, wore the famous black mantle of the Abbasids
and grasped the staff of Mohamed in his right hand.
Toghril in awe and reverence fell on his face and kissed

Lii THE SELJUK TURKS loi

the ground, and after a pause was conducted to a throne
placed near that of the Caliph. A decree was then read,
appointing him the Viceregent of the Successor of the
Prophet and Lord of all Moslems. Seven robes of
honour and seven slaves were then bestowed upon the
Seljuk to symbolize the seven regions of the Caliphate ;
a rich brocade scented with musk was draped over his
head, surmounted by twin crowns to signify the kingship
of Arabia and Persia ; and, to complete the investiture —
the word here bears its literal meaning — he was girded
with two swords to signify that he was ruler of the East
and of the West. Some may think that the Caliph was
merely masking his impotence by a ceremony that was
little more than mummery ; but it is more reasonable
to suppose that the Seljuk chieftain did not so regard it,
but felt after the investiture that his conquests had been
legally recognized and that his crown had been hallowed
by the religious head of Islam.

After remaining in Baghdad for about a year, during
which his niece, sister of Alp Arslan, was married to the
Caliph, Toghril continued his victorious career until in
Georgia and Iberia his hordes came into collision with
the armies of Byzantium. To quote Gibbon, " the
shepherd presumed to despatch an ambassador, or herald,
to demand the tribute and obedience of the Emperor of
Constantinople." Upon his return to Baghdad the ever-
victorious Seljuk was rewarded with the high-sounding
title of " King of the East and of the West." He
demanded a sister of the Caliph in marriage, and this
supreme honour was reluctantly granted ; but he died
before the ceremony could be completed.

Thus passed off the stage, at the age of seventy,
Rukn-u-Din, Abu Talib, Toghril Beg, the leader of a
s^aYe—of^irile Turks from the East, who, although
Moslems themselves, overwhelmed the kingdoms owning
lUegiance to the Caliphate. A notable personality, he
raised his tribe from mere tenders of sheep and robbers to
become the possessors of a wide empire. Little is known
3f the character of this extraordinary man, save that he
ivas harsh when necessary, strict in his religious observ-

I02 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

ances, and secretive, but more generous in disposition than
his upbringing and circumstances would lead us to expect.

Malik Kaward of Kermafty A.H. 433—465 (1041-1072),
— Although it was the career of Toghril Beg that
governed the fortunes of the Seljuk dynasty, we may
turn aside for a moment to notice the Kerman dynasty,
which lasted from a.h. 433 (1041) to a.h. 583 (11 87),
albeit its importance was mainly confined to the lifetime
of its founder Imad-u-Din, Kara Arslan Kaward, the
eldest son of Chakir Beg. This scion of the House of
Seljuk was vigorous and capable, and found little difficulty
in seizing the province from the Buwayhid rulers, who
were weakened by family feuds. The chronicler Mohamed
Ibrahim relates that when Abu Kalinjar, the Imad-u-Din,
marched from Fars to defend the province he was
poisoned by a favourite slave girl, but further efforts
apparently were made after his death. The Seljuk now
had to deal with the " Hot Country,'* which at this period
was independent. Here again treachery was employed,
and Malik Kaward, as he is generally termed, not only
annexed the country down to the coast but compelled
the Governor of Hormuz to fit out a fleet, in which he
crossed to Oman. As the result of his expedition this
province of Arabia remained for many years tributary to
Kerman.

Later in his reign Malik Kaward turned his attention
to Sistan, building a fort to close the pass on the only
route which united the two provinces, and erecting pillars
to serve as beacons in the desert. One of these two
columns, which is still intact, is now termed " the Column
of Nadir " ; it was owing to the chronicle of Mohamed
Ibrahim that I was able to assign it to the first Seljuk
ruler of Kerman.-^

The ambitions of Malik Kaward were boundless, and
he soon added Fars to his kingdom ; but he was obliged
to surrender this to Alp Arslan, who besieged Kerman.
Finally, upon the accession of Malik Shah, he made a bid
for the throne, and paid the penalty with his life.

J/p Arslan^ a.h. ^SS-^^S (1063-1072). — During his

^ Ten Thousand Miles, etc., p. 418.

ui THE SELJUK TURKS 103

lifetime Toghril chose Azud-u-Din, Abu Shuja Alp
Arslan, son of Chakir Beg and younger brother of Malik
Kaward, as his successor. After ToghriFs death, Al-
Kunduri/ his minister, unwisely supported Sulayman,
brother of his late master, but in vain, and he himself was
put to death. His dying message to Alp Arslan ran :
" Say to the King, ' Lo, a fortunate service has your
service been to me ; for thy uncle gave me this world to
rule over, whilst thou, giving me the martyr's portion,
hast granted me the other world ; so, by your service,
have I gained this world and that ! ' " The " Conquering
Lion " — to translate his title — mighty ruler though he
was, is chiefly remembered in connexion with Abu Ali
Hasan bin Ishak, famous in history as the Nizam-ul-
Mulk. This great statesman was born at Radkan, some
fifty miles to the north of Meshed, and after enjoying a
good education attracted the favourable notice of Chakir
Beg. Having been recommended to Alp Arslan, he
became his Vizier. He is always looked upon as the
model of a great minister, and some, at least, of his work
has endured ; for the Persian system of accounts which
prevails to-day is believed to have been originated by
him. Among his proteges was Omar Khayyam, the
Persian poet best known to Europeans ; and the famous
college which he founded at Baghdad became a school
of great men, among whom al-Ghazali, the eminent
theologian, deserves special mention.

Under Alp Arslan the boundaries of the Seljuk
Empire were extended. Eastward he subdued Herat,
and later on Jand in Transoxiana ; he also successfully
checked the ambitions of his brother Kaward, as already
related. In Arabia he overcame the Fatimids and gained
Mecca and Medina, thereby much augmenting his
prestige. In a.h. 464 (1071) he defeated a vasdy
superior Byzantine army in western Asia Minor and took
prisoner the Emperor Diogenes Romanus. The story is
told that when Romanus, who had fought heroically, was
brought to Alp Arslan he was asked what treatment he
expected. He replied either death or to be paraded

^ So called from Kundur in the Turshiz district.

I04 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

throughout the Empire, as it was unlikely that he would
be spared. Asked how he would have behaved had he
won, he answered, " I would have beaten thee with many
a stripe." Alp Arslan showed remarkable magnanimity ;
for Romanus, after making a treaty and stipulating to
pay a ransom, was set free. His subjects, however,
refused to recognize him. In this campaign mention is
made of a body of mercenary French and Normans,
commanded by Ursel of Baliol, a kinsman — possibly an
ancestor — of the Scottish kings.

The last campaign of this warlike Seljuk was against
Khwarazm and the Turks, and while the army was
crossing the Oxus a certain prisoner was brought in
who had held a fort in Khwarazm with much bravery.
Condemned to be pegged out on the ground until he
died, the fearless soldier cursed Alp Arslan for inflicting
a death so degrading ; whereupon the monarch, waving
his attendants aside, shot an arrow at him, but missed,
and before the prisoner could be seized he mortally
wounded the great Seljuk. So perished Alp Arslan in
the zenith of his fame and manhood. He was buried
at Merv with the following epitaph :

Thou hast seen Alp Arslan's head in pride exalted to the sky ;
Come to Merv, and see how lowly in the dust that head doth He !

Alp Arslan was tall, a noted archer, and had such long
moustaches that they had to be tied up when he shot.
His life was spent in fighting, and he gained the reputation
of being fearless, generous, and religious. It is much to
his credit that he realized the genius for administration
of the Nizam-ul-Mulk, and gave him his entire confidence
and a free hand. The result was that justice and order
prevailed, learning was encouraged, and such prosperity
returned to Persia that the Seljuk dynasty at its prime
need not fear comparison with any of its predecessors.

The Seljuk Empire at its Zenith under Malik Shah^ a.h.
465-485 (1072-1092). — Jalal-u-Din, Abul Fath, Malik
Shah had been proclaimed heir-apparent at Meshed before
his father proceeded on his last expedition. He was only
seventeen when he was suddenly called to assume the

Lii THE SELJUK TURKS 105

vast responsibilities of Empire, and his accession was by
no means unchallenged. His uncle, Kaward, marched to
Reij and at Karaj, to the south of Hamadan, a desperate
battle was fought which lasted for three days and three
nights before the pretender was defeated. Meanwhile
Altigin, the Khan of Samarcand, had invaded the Empire,
and in another quarter Ibrahim of Ghazna captured
his uncle, Othman ; but Ibrahim was pursued and routed
by the Amir Gumushtigin, whose servant, Anushtigin, was
destined to found the dynasty of the Khwarazm Shahs or
Kings of Khiva. Supported by the Nizam-ul-Mulk,
Malik Shah weathered all these storms of state, together
with the rebellion of a brother, and five years after his
accession he was in a position to extend still farther the
bounds of the Empire. His generals subdued the greater
part of Syria and Egypt in the west, while* in the east
they not only conquered Bokhara and Samarcand, but
received tribute from the Prince of Kashgar, who was
obliged to recognize Seljuk suzerainty on his coins.

The internal prosperity of the Empire increased under
the wise guidance of the Nizam-ul-Mulk. Among the
stories related of the famous Vizier is one that illustrates
both the extent of the Empire and his own efficiency.
The Nizam-ul-Mulk, it is said, paid the boatmen on
the Oxus by bills on Antioch, and the efficiency of his
financial policy was proved by the fact that they were
readily cashed. Science was fostered by the monarch,
who, himself a man of culture, founded the observatory
at Nishapur in which Omar Khayyam laboured with other
scientists to compute the new era which Malik Shah
inaugurated, and which was termed Jalali in his honour.

Moreover, the dynasty maintained its virility. The
Sultan was passionately fond of polo, so much so that he
played a match at Baghdad the day after his arrival at
the capital ; he was equally fond of shooting and kept
a record of his bags of game. Malik Shah was seldom
at rest, but among the cities in the Empire his favourite
residence was Isfahan, which afterwards became the capital
of Persia under the Safavi dynasty. There he constructed
fine buildings and laid out sumptuous gardens.

io6 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

The Downfall of the Nizam-ul-Mulk, — The power and
influence of the Great Vizier seemed to remain unimpaired,
and when an old man he wrote his celebrated Sidsat Ndma^
or " Treatise on the Art of Government," which won high
praise from his royal master. But nevertheless he
fell, and Malik Shah, who resembled Haroun-al-Rashid
in his good fortune, has also come down to us with a
tarnished name for his dismissal of the Great Vizier, even
although there was no such tragedy as accompanied the
downfall of the Barmecides.

It appears that complaint was made against a grand-
son of the Nizam-ul-Mulk, and the aged Vizier, who had
doubtless grown overbearing with years, returned an
angry reply to his master's reproaches. The incident
might have passed unnoticed but for the fact that Turkan
Khatun,^ the favourite wife of Malik Shah, was hostile to
the Vizier, and consequently he was dismissed. He was
not put to death or imprisoned, but shortly after his
downfall was assassinated hy^ifidai^ or devotee, who was
believed to have been sent by the famous Hasan Sabbah.
There is an old legend to the effect that the Nizam-ul-
Mulk was at school at Nishapur with Omar Khayyam and
Hasan Sabbah, and the three boys swore eternal friend-
ship, agreeing that whichever of them succeeded in life
should help the other two. ', The Nizam-ul-Mulk fulfilled
his obligation in the case of Omar Khayyam, who refused
the governorship of Nishapur but asked for a pension,
which was granted. He also found a suitable post for
Hasan Sabbah, but the latter intrigued to supplant his
benefactor, and on the failure of his designs became the
Nizam-ul-Mulk's enemy. This legend is too well known
to be passed by, but disparities of age make its truth
impossible.

As in the case of the Barmecides, profound sympathy
was felt for the fallen minister, and it was deepened by
his tragic end. The exquisite lines of which the following
is a translation are among the elegies in which his fate
is commemorated :

^ I.e. " The Turkish lady," a title, not a name.

Lii THE SELJUK TURKS 107

The Minister Nizam -ul-Mulk was a peerless pearl, which the

All-merciful God esteemed as of great price,
But, precious as it was, the age knew not its value, so, in jealousy. He

replaced it in its shell.

The 'Death of Malik Shah^ a.h. 485 (1092). — Malik
Shah survived his faithful servant less than a month,
dying at the height of his fame, after a short illness,
before he was forty years of age. With him passed what
may justly be termed the golden prime of the Seljuk
dynasty ; for never within historical times had a vast
empire been better governed than during the thirty years
now concluded.

The Assassins, — In the previous chapter some account
has been given of the origin of the Ismailis and also of
their immediate offshoots. The members of the sect,
under the European name of Assassins, played a large
part on the stage of the Near East and Iran during this
period and the two succeeding centuries, and they became
famous in Europe through the baleful activity of their
Syrian branch. It is therefore desirable to give some
account of their tenets and operations at this period. The
political importance of the sect began with the foundation
of the so-called Fatimid dynasty, which claimed descent
from the Prophet's daughter, and the Ismailis are in
consequence often referred to as Fatimi or Alawi (descend-
ants of Ali). By their opponents they are termed Ismaili,
Batini ('* Esoterics '*), Mulahida (" heretics "), this last
word being the Mulehet of Marco Polo.

The dynasty in question was brought into existence
through a propaganda started in a.h. 260 (873) by a certain
AbduUa bin Maymun al-Kaddah, an oculist of Ahwaz and
a Persian by birth. This extraordinary man founded a
secret society which was to bind together Arabs and
Persians, Christians and Jews, and indeed all mankind,
into a school which was to owe implicit obedience to him-
self and to serve as a powerful instrument of his ambitions.
As in the case of the Abbasid propaganda, dai or mission-
aries spread the peculiar doctrines, which offered all things
to aU men — a Mahdi to the Moslems, a Messiah to the
Jews, philosophy to the wise, and liberty to the foolish.

io8 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

There was an inner doctrine for the fully initiated, which,
as Browne puts it, was " philosophical and eclectic, borrow-
ing much from old Iranian and Semitic systems and some-
thing from Neo-PIatonist and Neo-Pythagorean ideas. It
was dominated throughout by the mystic number Seven ;
there were Seven Prophetic Periods . . . and each of
these Seven great Prophets was succeeded by seven
Imams." ^

The task of the dai was to arouse curiosity by asking
questions such as : " Why did God create the Universe in
Seven Days .f^ " "Why are there Seven Heavens, Seven
Earths (or Climes), Seven Seas, and Seven Verses in the
Opening Chapter of the Koran ^ " Among the more subtle
questions were the following : " What, in reality, are the
torments of hell .^^ How can it be true that the skins
of the damned will be changed into a fresh skin, in order
that this fresh skin, which has not participated in their
sins, may be submitted to the tortures of hell 1 " After
a convert had been won, he was induced to take an oath
of allegiance to the dai as representing the Imam, and to
pay the Imam's money.

The Fatimid Dynasty^ a.h. 297-567 (909-1 171). — The
founder of the Fatimid dynasty was the grandson of the
oculist. Taking the name of Abu Mohamed ObayduUa,
he conquered the larger portion of northern Africa and
made Mahdiya, near modern Tunis, his capital. Sixty
years later Egypt was added to the kingdom, and by the
end of the tenth century a.d. the greater part of Syria,
including Jerusalem, was in the hands of the Fatimid
line, which bore sway until the famous Salah-u-Din, the
Saladin of the Crusaders, overthrew their kingdom in
A.H. 567 (1171).

The most notorious personage of the dynasty thus
founded was Hakim Biamrillah, or " He who rules by
the order of God," who claimed divine honours and,
possibly in imitation of the twelfth Imam, " disappeared "
from the earth — or else was assassinated. It is of interest
to note that his adherents, the Druzes, who derive their
name from al-Duruzi, Hakim's Vizier, survive to the

^ op. cit. vol. ii. p. 197.

Lii THE SELJUK TURKS 109

present day as a picturesque sect in the Lebanon and
Anti-Lebanon.

The Career of Hasan Sabbah, — Hasan Sabbah, whom
we have met as an enemy of the Nizam-ul-Mulk in the
reign of Malik Shah, was the son of a native of Kufa and
was born at Kum. Like his father, he belonged to the
" Sect of the Twelve " until he fell under the influence
of the famous Nasir-i-Khusru, the "Proof* of Khorasan
(who is referred to in Chapter LIV.), and other Fatimid
dais. He was advised to proceed to Egypt, where he
was received with honour ; returning thence to Persia, he
extended the Fatimid propaganda to Yezd, Kerman, and
Tabaristan, but he avoided the city of Rei, whose governor,
a son-in-law of the Nizam-ul-Mulk, was under orders to
seize him.

His next step was to capture by an artifice the
mountain fortress of Alamut in the Elburz range, close
to the road which runs from Kazvin to Resht. This was
accomplished in a.h. 483 (1090), and was followed by
similar successes in other parts of Persia, more especially
in the province of Kuhistan, where Tabas, Tun, Kain,
Zuzan, Khur, and Khusf became centres of Ismaili power.

" The Old Man of the Mountain^ — Hasan Sabbah,
having established his position, broke off from the
Ismailis of Egypt on the death of the Fatimite Caliph
Mustansir in a.h. 487 (1094) by espousing the cause of
Nizar, the unsuccessful claimant, whose brother, Mustali,
succeeded to the throne of Cairo.

Hasan Sabbah now reorganized the order, at the head
of which he placed himself as the Grand Master,
commonly termed the Shaykh-ul-Jabal, or " Chief of the
Mountain." Inasmuch as " Shaykh " is frequently used
as a term of respect to grey-beards, this title passed into
Europe in the form "le Vieux" or "The Old Man of
the Mountain." Next in the hierarchy came the Grand
Priors of districts or sees, with their staff of dai. Below
these superior grades were the " Companions,'' the
" Adherents," and lastly the famous Fidais or " Devotees,"
whose fanatical disregard of life made the sect feared
even by the most puissant monarchs. The Crusaders

no HISTORY OF PERSIA chap,

were brought into contact with the Syrian branch of the
order, and Raymond, Count of Tripoli, in a. 0.1149, ^^^
Conrad of Montferrat, titular King of Jerusalem in a.d.
1192, were among its more famous European victims.
In A.D. 1272 the life of Prince Edward, afterwards
Edward I. of England, was attempted at Acre, but accord-
ing to tradition saved by his consort, who sucked the

wound.

The Initiation of the Devotees, — A graphic account of
the initiation of the fdais is given by Marco Polo, who,
writing shortly after the capture of Alamut by Hulagu
in A.D. 1252, says : ^ " The Old Man had caused a certain
valley between two mountains to be enclosed, and had
turned it into a garden, the largest and most beautiful
that ever was seen, filled with every variety of fruit.
And there were runnels flowing with wine and milk and
honey and water ; and numbers of ladies and of the
most beautiful damsels in the world. For the Old Man
desired to make his people believe that this was actually
Paradise.

" Now no man was allowed to enter the Garden save
those whom he intended to be his ashishin. . . .
Then he would introduce them into his garden, some
four or six or ten at a time, having first made them drink
a certain potion which cast them into a deep sleep, and
then causing them to be lifted and carried in. When
therefore they awoke and found themselves in a place so
charming, they deemed that it was Paradise in very truth.
... So when the Old Man would have any prince slain,
he would say to a youth : ' Go thou and slay so and so ;
and when thou returnest my Angels shall bear thee into
Paradise.* "

The potion was composed of cannabis indica^ or
hemp, known as hashish, and this is undoubtedly the
origin of the word " Assassin.** The Jidais rarely survived
their victims, as they gloried in martyrdom and attempted
to execute their mission in the most open and dramatic
manner. Indeed, so certain of happiness after death were
the followers of this sect that mothers wept if their sons

^ Yule's Marco Poloj i. p. 139 (Cordier's edition).

Lii THE SELJUK TURKS iii

returned alive from a quest on which they had been sent
by the " Shaykh of the Mountain/'

Mahmud^ a.h. 485 (1092) ; Barkiyaruk^ a.h. 487
(1094) ; Malik Shah IL^ a.h. 498 (1104) ; Mohamed^
A.H. 498-511 (1104-1117). — The death of Malik Shah
unchained fierce rivalries. He had four sons, all of
whom ultimately reigned, the latest and most illustrious
being Sultan Sanjar, or " the Hawk."

Turkan Khatun was at Baghdad with Mahmud, a child
of four, at the time of her husband's decease, and im-
mediately brought influence to bear upon the Caliph
Muktadi to secure her son's accession. In this she
succeeded, and a high official was sent on posthorses to
Isfahan with orders to seize Barkiyaruk, Malik Shah's
eldest son by another wife, Zobayda. But this attempt
was forestalled by the sons of the Nizam-ulrMulk, and
Barkiyaruk, a boy of twelve, was taken off to Rei, where
he was crowned. Turkan Khatun had followed her
emissary and gained possession of Isfahan, where she was
soon attacked by the supporters of Barkiyaruk, who,
however, were bought off. Shortly afterwards Turkan
Khatun, by promise of marriage, induced Malik Ismail,
brother of Zobayda, to attack the rival of her son ; but
he was defeated, and Barkiyaruk was formally proclaimed
at Baghdad two years after the death of Malik Shah.
But this did not end the troubles ; for Tutush, a paternal
uncle and the founder of the Syrian dynasty, rose in
rebellion and captured the young Sultan, whom he
brought to Isfahan and threw into prison. It had been
decided to blind him, but his half-brother Mahmud
suddenly died of smallpox, and Barkiyaruk was there-
upon restored to the throne, owing partly, no doubt, to
the disappearance from the scene of Turkan Khatun,
who had been put to death a short time before.

Barkiyaruk, who appears to have profited by his lessons
in the scihool of adversity, defeated and killed Tutush in
the following year, and another rebellious uncle was oppor-
tunely removed by the hand of a page. In the course of
these stirring events the life of Barkiyaruk also was at-
tempted by one of the Ismaili devotees, but he escaped.

112 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

In A.H. 489 (1096) Sanjar was appointed King of
Khorasan, but in a.h. 492 (1099) ^^^ 7^^^ of the capture
of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, Mohamed, another son
of Malik Shah, rebelled, aided by the Muayyid-ul-Mulk,
the ablest of the late Nizam-ul-Mulk's sons, whom
Barkiyaruk had dismissed from office and converted into
a mortal enemy. Small wonder was it that the invasion
from Europe met with no response from Baghdad, for
civil war was waged incessantly throughout the reign of
the unfortunate Barkiyaruk. At last peace was made,
but shortly afterwards Barkiyaruk died, and his brother
Mohamed obtained the supreme power by seizing and
blinding the heir-apparent, Malik Shah II., a boy of five.
Mohamed now became the undisputed ruler of the heart
of the Empire, and during his reign he waged incessant
war on the Assassins. Upon his death his successor,
Mahmud, a foolish boy of fourteen, attacked his powerful
uncle, Sanjar, who defeated him at Sava, to the west of
Kum. With magnanimity unusual in that period, Sanjar
not only spared the boy*s eyes, but made him ruler of
Irak and gave him his own daughter in marriage.

During this period of fratricidal strife the Empire had
broken up, Kerman, Syria, and Asia Minor all coming
under independent dynasties, although to some extent
they acknowledged the nominal suzerainty of the main
line. Sanjar, however, had practically no concern with
the provinces west of Iran, and the Seljuks of Rum, as
Asia Minor was termed, were entirely independent and
maintained their dynasty until the rise of the Osmanlis
at the beginning of th:. fourteenth century.

The Seljuks of Kerman, a.h. 433-583 (1041-1187). —
The Seljuks of Kerman have been mentioned and the
career of their founder, Malik Kaward, has been related ;
but we must follow briefly the later fortunes of the
dynasty, which ruled in south-east Persia for one hundred
and forty-six years.

After the execution of Malik Kaward his victorious
nephew, Malik Shah, decided to extirpate the whole of
his family, and with that end in view marched on Kerman
and laid siege to it. But Kaward had left forty daughters,

Lii THE SELJUK TURKS 113

and when representations were made that it was not
becoming for these to be handed over to the soldiery-
Malik Shah pardoned the family. Kerman was left to
Sultan Shahj son of Kaward, who had been partially blinded
after the defeat of his father, but had escaped and returned
thither. Turan Shah, the founder of the Masjid-i-Malik
mosque of Kerman, was the next ruler, and his son, Iran
Shah, was such a " monster " that he was put to death.
In other words, he was suspected of favouring the Ismaili
tenets. Under the just and efficient rule of his cousin,
Arslan Shah, who reigned forty-one years, from a.h.
494 to A.H. 536 ( 1 100- 1 141)5 the province attained great
prosperity. If the chronicler is to be credited, caravans
from Asia Minor, Khorasan, and Irak passed through
it bound for Abyssinia, Zanzibar, and China. Arslan
Shah was sovereign also of the neighbouring province
of Pars, and had his deputy in Oman. Ultimately the
dynasty was destroyed by the Ghuzz, like the main branch
of the Seljuks.

The Origin of the Crusades. — By way of conclusion to
this chapter I propose to give a brief account of the
Crusades,^ which for nearly two centuries constituted an
attack by Christendom on Islam as represented by the
Seljuk and Fatimid Empires ; although they affected the
fortunes of Persia only indirectly, to pass them by with-
out notice would leave this narrative incomplete. Pilgrim-
ages to Jerusalem may be said to date from the famous
journey of St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, whose
alleged discovery of the true cross in a.d. 326 marked
the beginning of pilgrim-travel ; and Beazley gives details
of St. Silvia, of Jerome, and other very early pilgrims.

Of special interest to us is the journey of St. Willibald,
the West Saxon, the earliest recorded Englishman who
visited the East. He and his companions started from
Hamble Mouth, near Southampton, with the original in-
tention of proceeding no farther than Rome, where they
stayed for some time. In the spring of a.d. 722, having
decided "to reach and gaze upon the walls of that delect-

^ For this section I have consulted The Crusades in the East, by W. B. Stevenson,
and Beazley's Daivn of Modern Geography.

VOL. II I

114 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

able and desirable city of Jerusalem," they travelled via
Naples to Syracuse and Southern Greece, and so to
Ephesus, whence they proceeded, mainly by land, ^ to
Cyprus. Their port in Syria was Tortosa, and, walking
inland to Emesa, they were thrown into prison " as
strangers and unknown men." A friendly Spaniard,
brother of a chamberlain to the Caliph, took up their
case, and they were summoned to appear before Yezid II.
On his asking whence they came, they replied, " From the
western shore, where the sun sets, and we know not of
any land beyond — nothing but water." So remote were
the British Isles before the discovery of America ! The
Caliph upon hearing this exclaimed, " Why punish them ?
They have done no v/rong ; set them free." By this
journey Willibald, almost forgotten to-day, was the fore-
runner of a mighty movement of conquest.

It will be remembered that in the account of the
reign of Haroun-al-Rashid a reference was made to his
exchange of embassies with Charlemagne. Indeed, no
fewer than three missions visited the great Caliph, who
despatched three return embassies to Europe.^ Again,
during the reign of Mamun, Louis the Pious, son of
Charlemagne, sent an embassy, which brought a response
from Mamun six years later. The concessions obtained
from Haroun gave the Franks a strong position in
Jerusalem, but before the ninth century closed their
quasi-protectorate, as Beazley aptly terms it, passed to
the Byzantines.

It is hard to realize how deep was the interest taken
by Christendom in pilgrimages during the tenth century,
and from what remote countries the pilgrims came. It is
especially remarkable that in a.d. 987 two Icelanders
appear on the scene, first-fruits of the conversion of the
Norsemen with all its far-reaching consequences. In the
eleventh century pilgrimages became common, even
women taking part in them, and the interest of Christendom
grew continually deeper. Suddenly, in a.d. ioio, the
mad Fatimite Hakim Biamrillah, who has already been
mentioned, destroyed the buildings of the Holy Sepulchre.

^ Daivn of Geography, vol. ii. p. i20.

Lii THE SELJUK TURKS 115

Some ten years later they were rebuilt, but Christendom
had meanwhile been stirred to its depths, and from that
time the crusades became inevitable, although eighty years
were to elapse before the movement gained sufficient
strength for action.

The First Crusade^ a.d. 109 5- 109 9. — Perhaps the
first reply to the destruction of the Holy Sepulchre was
given in the island of Sardinia, which was wrested by the
Pisans from Islam in 1016. In 1060 the Norman con-
quest of Sicily from the Arabs, which took thirty years
to accomplish, began, and this may to some extent be
regarded as a crusade. In a.d. 1095 Pope Urban II.
delivered a memorable address at Clermont, teUing his
hearers how the cries from threatened Constantinople and
oppressed Jerusalem were ringing in his ears, and that it
would take two months to traverse the lands* which the
"accursed Persian race''^ had won from the Empire of
the East. The effect was instantaneous on minds already
prepared, and cries of Deus le volt^ Deus le volt^ " God
wills it, God wills it," went up from the mighty host,
which was now moved against Islam as it had never been
moved before. Crosses were distributed and Christendom,
stirred by wandering preachers such as Peter the Hermit
who carried the theme of Urban's sermon far and wide,
prepared for the Crusades.

The Defeat of the First Army by the Seljuks, — As might
be expected, the first raw levies which marched across
Europe, massacring the Jews and generally robbing and
pillaging, reached Constantinople in very small numbers.
The Emperor Alexius advised them to await the arrival
of the organized armies ; in the meanwhile, dreading
their lawlessness, he transported them to Asia and sent
them supplies by sea. The German section of these
Crusaders made a raid towards Nicaea on the Sea of
Marmora, but they were surrounded and captured by
Kilij-Arslan Daud, the reigning Seljuk of Rum ; the
same Prince also surprised and cut to pieces the main
body of the undisciplined mob, with the exception of a

^ The appeal of the Byzantine Emperor for armed help was actually due to
conquests by the Seljulc Turks, here erroneously termed Persians. It was intiended to
use the western troops to recover Asia Minor for Byzantium.

ii6 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

remnant which escaped into a fort and was rescued by-
troops from Constantinople.

The Capture of Nicaea and of Antioch by the Crusaders,
— The next effort was much better organized, men of
higher rank and position, such as Raymond of Toulouse
and Duke Robert of Normandy, taking part in it. The
army avoided the -Mediterranean Sea which was in
Moslem hands, and marching by various routes united
outside the walls of Constantinople. Crossing into Asia
Minor, the vanguard attacked Nicaea, and was in turn
assaulted by Kilij-Arslan, who probably expected another
encounter with a mob. But these Crusaders were a very
different force, and in this, their first battle, they won a
complete victory. Nicaea surrendered in the end to
Alexius, and the crusading army marched across the heart
of Asia Minor towards Syria. But it was no military
promenade ; for at Dorylaeum, two or three stages to the
south-east of Nicaea, they were again fiercely attacked,
and with some diflSculty beat off the enemy. Asia Minor
had been devastated by the Turkish hordes, and the
Crusaders suffered terribly from lack of water and
supplies, but at last they descended into Syria, and in
October a.d. 1097 besieged Antioch, which was captured
after extraordinary vicissitudes of fortune.

The Storming of Jerusalem^ a.h. 492 (1099). — It is of
interest to note that the Crusaders had opened negotia-
tions in advance with the Fatimid Caliph, who sent a
return embassy to the camp at Antioch. Jerusalem was
in his possession, and he apparently refused any concession
except that he would admit three hundred unarmed
pilgrims to worship at the Holy Sepulchre. This
offer was rejected with scorn, and in a.h. 492 (1099)
Jerusalem was stormed, when the deplorable fanaticism
of Christendom was vented on the Moslem and Jewish
inhabitants, who were slain in thousands. News of the
capture of the city, which was sacred in Islam as the scene
of the Prophet's heavenly flight and as containing the
mosque of Omar, reached Baghdad, and after it came
crowds of refugees who clamoured for war against the
infidel. But, as we have already seen, the Seljuks were

Lii THE SELJUK TURKS 117

at that time fighting to the death among themselves, and
in spite of tumults at Baghdad, where the Great Mosque
was stormed, no action was taken either by the Seljuks
or by the Fatimids, and the Crusaders were allowed
to organize their conquests in peace. Thus in a halo of
glory ended the first crusade, which constituted a sign
that Christendom was rallying and reviving. As Beazley
says : "The crusades are the central expression of this
revival, which, though defeated in some of its immediate
objects, was entirely successful in kindling a spirit of
patriotism, of practical religious fervour, and of boundless
enterprise, whereby our Western World finally attained
to the discovery, conquest, colonisation, or trade-dominion
of the best portions of the earth." -^

^ op. cit, vol. ii. p. i.

Alp Arslan.

CHAPTER LIII

THE DISRUPTION OF THE SELJUK EMPIRE

They adore the wind and live in the desert : they eat no bread and drink no
wine, but endure a diet of raw meat and, being destitute of noses, breathe only
through two small holes. — Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela.

Sultan Sanjar at the Height of his Fame, — Sultan Sanjar
is famous in history not only for his power and success,
which gained him the reputation of being invincible, but
also for his sudden and tragic fall, which involved that of
his dynasty. According to native chroniclers, during the
forty years of his rule as King of Khorasan, Sanjar made
nineteen conquests. After he had attained the position
of Great Seljuk by the defeat of his nephew, his successes
continued, and in a. h. 524 ( 11 30) he invaded Mavaranahr,^
or Transoxiana, in order to reduce Ahmad Khan, who
had ceased to pay tribute. He besieged Samarcand and
took Ahmad Khan prisoner, but subsequently restored
him to power. Six years later Bahram Shah, of the
Ghaznavid dynasty, rebelled, but soon tendered his
submission ; in a.h. 535 (i 140) Samarcand again revolted
and for six months endured a siege by Sanjar, who when
he captured it displayed unusual clemency towards its
inhabitants. To the north his campaigns against the
rising power of Khwarazm, or Khiva, during the earlier
years of his reign kept that state in check.

Mohamed Ibrahim mentions in his history that
Sanjar, who had designs on the Kerman province,

^ Literally " Beyond the River."
118

CH.LIII DISRUPTION OF SELJUK EMPIRE 119

remarked to the envoy of Arslan Shah that he had heard
there was a district in Kerman where the narcissus
bloomed. " True, O Sultan," was the reply, " but there
are sharp thorns also.*' It is not recorded that Sanjar made
any attack on the province, and the chronicler evidently
believes the Great Seljuk took this remark as a warning
that he would be opposed if he attempted an invasion. On
the other hand he was accepted as suzerain by the Kerman
branch of the dynasty.

An Episode of the Assassins, — In the previous chapter I
have given some account of the rise of the baleful power
of the assassins, and its continuance, in spite of the long
list of their victims, is a proof of the unsatisfactory
condition of the Seljuk Empire. Barkiyaruk, during
whose reign they consolidated their position, was himself
accused of being in sympathy with their ^tenets and,
perhaps as a proof of his orthodoxy, ordered a massacre
of the sect, one of many which were instituted by way of
reprisal. As already mentioned, Iran Shah, the Seljuk
prince of Kerman, was also suspected of adherence to the
Ismaili doctrines. It is difficult to conceive a more dia-
bolical state of affairs than one which caused all men of
position and especially monarchs to go constantly in fear
for their lives, and sowed the deepest mistrust between all
classes. Nor did capture end the assassin's power for evil,
as for instance after the assassination of the Fakhr-ul-Mulk,
son of the Nizam-ul-Mulk ; for the devotee, being inter-
rogated by Sultan Sanjar, denounced several prominent
officers of the Court, who, although probably innocent,
were in consequence executed.

A terrible instance of their almost incredible methods
was that of ibn Attash,^ who won thousands of converts
at Isfahan. Numbers of people were at that time dis-
appearing in a most inexplicable manner and a panic
prevailed. The mystery was solved through the instru-
mentality of a beggar-woman who, hearing groans pro-
ceeding from a house, suspected foul play and refused to
enter when pressed to do so. She raised an alarm, and
the crowd, breaking into the building, found four or five

^ Browne's Literary History^ vol. ii. p. 314.

I20 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

hundred miserable victims, most of whom were crucified,
and some still alive. These unhappy creatures had been
lured to their doom by a blind man, who used to stand
at the end of the lane leading to his house crying out,
" May God pardon him who will take the hand of this
poor blind man and lead him to the door of his dwelling
in this lane ! " The vengeance taken on the owner of
the house and his accomplices was swift ; and afterwards
ibn Attash himself was paraded through Isfahan and
crucified, arrows being shot at him to increase his
sufferings. If ever an agonising punishment is justifiable,
that of ibn Attash was well deserved. Yet, owing to the
death of Sultan Mohamed in a.d. iii8, these accursed
heretics were not extirpated, but on the contrary gained
possession of fortresses in Syria and in every part of
Persia.

It is related that Sanjar intended to attack Alamut,
and had marched several stages towards it when one
morning, on waking up, he found a dagger stuck into the
ground near his bed. Attached to it was a paper with
the following written menace : " Sultan Sanjar, beware !
Had not thy character been respected, the hand which
stuck this dagger into the hard ground could with greater
ease have struck it into thy soft bosom.** Apparently
the threat had the desired result, for the Great Seljuk
abandoned his undertaking.

The Ghorid Dynasty, a.h, 543-612 (1148-1215). —
The Ghorid dynasty which held sway in the mountains
between Herat and Ghazna calls for a short notice.
Mahmud reduced the principality, and its princes continued
to rule under the Ghaznavid monarchs, with whom they
had intermarried. Bahram Shah, the reigning Ghaznavid,
executed a member of the Ghorid family, whose death
was avenged by the capture of Ghazna in a.h. 543 (i 148)
and the expulsion of Bahram Shah. This prince, how-
ever, recovered his capital by means of a conspiracy, and
treated Sayf-u-Din, brother of the Prince, with extreme
cruelty and insult, parading him through the city and
then crucifying him. Six years later Ala-u-Din, the
reigning Ghorid Prince, exacted the fullest retribution,

Liii DISRUPTION OF SELJUK EMPIRE 121

and gained the awful title of Jahan Suz^ or "World
Burner/' by the ferocity with which he reduced to a heap
of ashes the beautiful buildings erected by Mahmud and
his successors. Yet, as we read in the Chahar Makala^
" he bought with gold the poems written in their praise
and placed them in his library/'

Ala-u-Din was afterwards a prisoner in the hands of
Sultan Sanjar, and when he died in a.h. 556 (1161) the
Ghuzz were ravaging Afghanistan, and both the Ghorid
and Ghaznavid governments for a time disappeared.
The Ghorid dynasty, however, revived, and for a while
held part of the province of Khorasan ; it will be heard of
again in this connexion. I

The Rise of the Shahs of Khwarazm. — The Shahs of
Khwarazm or Khiva were descended from a favourite
cup-bearer of Malik Shah named Anushtigjn, who has
already been mentioned in connexion with that monarch's
accession. His successor was Kutb-u-Din Mohamed,
whose state the Kara Khitai Turks invaded during his
reign. He sent a large army to oppose them, but was
defeated and had to pay tribute. This monarch died in
A.H. 490 (1097). -His son Atsiz remained for many
years at the court of Sanjar, where he acted as Chief Cup-
bearer, but in A.H. 533 (1138) he obtained permission to
proceed to Khiva, where he prompdy raised a rebellion.
Sanjar, however, easily defeated his vassal, who fled, but
shortly afterwards recovered his kingdom.

The Kara Khitai Dynasty. — The founder of the Kara
Khitai, or " Black Cathayan," dynasty of Chinese Turkestan
was a certain princely adventurer, named Yelui Tashi, a
near relation of the Cathayan Emperor. He had aided
him in his struggles against the Nuchens, who eventually
founded the Kin dynasty on the ruins of the Cathayan
Empire,^ but, realizing that the position of the Emperor was
hopeless, Yelui Tashi marched- off in a.d. i 123 to seek his
fortunes to the north-west of Shensi. There all classes
rallied to his standard in recognition of his illustrious
descent, and with a large force he marched into Turkestan,

^ The Cathayan dynasty and its fall are dealt with in A Thousand Tears of the Tartars^
Boole VII., by E. H. Parker.

122 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

which he annexed, together with Kashgar, Yarkand, and
Khotan, and so founded a Buddhist kingdom in the
Tarim basin. He subsequently invaded Khwarazm, as
related in the previous section, and imposed an annual
tribute of thirty thousand pieces of gold. Two years
later, having by that time extended his Empire to the
confines of Siberia, Yelui Tashi assumed the high title of
Gur Khan, or " Universal Lord.'' This great conqueror
died in a.d. 1136, as he was preparing to attack the
usurping Nuchens. His immediate successors were
minors, and their regents were their female relations ;
but the tribe for some generations to come maintained its
warlike ascendancy over the kingdoms of Central Asia.

The Defeat of Sultan Sanjar by the Kara Khitai^ a.h. 536
(1141). — Atsiz was a man of resource, and, not content
with recovering his kingdom after his expulsion by Sanjar,
was able to avenge himself by encouraging the Kara Khitai
to invade the territories of his overlord. A great battle was
fought in the valley of Dirgham beyond the Oxus, and
Sanjar encountered the first defeat in his hitherto successful
career. In this disaster, which was held to be the most
crushing ever experienced by Moslems in Central Asia,
the Seljuk losses were one hundred thousand men. Its
result was that the Kara Khitai temporarily occupied
Merv and Nishapur, and Atsiz returned to Khiva as an
independent sovereign. Two years later Sanjar had re-
covered sufficient strength to invade Khiva ; but, meeting
with little success, he made peace. Atsiz, who died about
a year before his great enemy, left to his son a kingdom
which stretched as far east as the province of Jand on the
Jaxartes. Sanjar's last success was the defeat and capture
of the famous " World Burner " of Ghor, who had invaded
Khorasan.

The Capture of Sultan Sanjar by the Ghuzz^ a.h. 548
(i 153). — As we have already had occasion to remark, one
of the most potent causes of the overthrow of powerful
dynasties has been found in the movements of nomadic
tribes which, in their flight from a strong foe, have fought
desperately to secure new grazing grounds in a strange
country. The Kara Khitai, when they won their empire,

Liii DISRUPTION OF SELJUK EMPIRE 123

left the sedentary population unmolested, but drove the
Ghuzz tribes from their pastures. Crossing the Oxus,
the dispossessed nomads obtained permission from Sultan
Sanjar to settle in the neighbourhood of Balkh, agreeing to
supply 24,000 sheep annually as a tax for their 40,000
families. A dispute as to the quality of the sheep excited
a rising, which the governor of Balkh tried in vain to
quell. Upon hearing this, in a.h. 548 (1153) Sanjar
marched in person with an army of one hundred thousand
men to assert his authority. The Ghuzz in alarm offered to
submit and pay a heavy fine, but Sanjar would not listen
to their overtures, and the nomads fighting desperately
for their lives defeated the Seljuk army and took the
Sultan prisoner.

The Atrocities committed by the Ghuzz. — The victors,
ferocious and intoxicated with success, attacked Merv
Shahijan, or " Merv the soul of the Shah,*' as it was
generally termed, which they captured with all the amassed
wealth of the Seljuks. Not content with plunder, they
tortured the wretched inhabitants, their favourite method
being to ram dust down the victim's throat with a stick,
the mixture being grimly described as " Ghuzz coffee."
From Merv they marched on Nishapur, where " the slain
could not be seen for the blood wherein they lay." Their
terrible ravages have been depicted by Anwari, whose
poem was translated by William Kirkpatrick in a.d. 1785.
Two of the stanzas ran :

Waft, gentle gale, oh waft to Samarcand,

When next thou visitest that blissful land,

The plaint of Khorasania plunged in woe :

Bear to Turanians King our piteous scroll.

Whose opening breathes forth all the anguished soul,

And close denotes what all the tortur'd know.

• • * • • ■ •

The mosque no more admits the pious race ;
Constrain'd, they yield to beasts the holy place,
A stable now, where dome nor porch is found :
Nor can the savage foe proclaim his reign,
For Khorasania's criers all are slain.
And all her pulpits levelled with the ground.

Their Ravages in the Kerman Province, — In the pro-

124 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

vince of Kerman, too, the Ghuzz made great havoc.
They harried in the neighbourhood of the capital, and
thence proceeded to the fertile districts of Jiruft and
Narmashir, which they laid waste. In a.h. 581 (1185)
Malik Dinar arrived from Khorasan, joined the Ghuzz,
and with their aid seized the province. Some years later
he proceeded to Hormuz, where the Governor gave him
money and horses. He also extracted money from Keis,
then an emporium of great importance, which had been
visited by Benjamin of Tudela only a few years previously.
Upon the death of Malik Dinar the Ghuzz in the Kerman
province were attacked by the Shabancara^ or Ik tribe,
who dealt them some heavy blows, and they were finally
crushed by Atabeg Sad bin Zangi.

The Escape and Death of Sultan Sanjar^ a.h. 552
(11 57). — Sanjar remained four years a prisoner with the
Ghuzz, treated apparently with respect but closely
guarded ; tradition says that he sat on a throne by day
but was placed in a cage at night. He contrived at last
to escape when on a hunting expedition, and it is said that
when he saw the ruined state of Merv he ceased to wish
for life, and died heart-broken in the seventy-third year
of his age. He was buried in a splendid mausoleum
erected during his lifetime, which in its present half-
ruined state struck me as strangely impressive, recalling
as it did an illustrious puissant monarch, the last Great
Seljuk, who ended a glorious reign as a homeless and
heart-broken fugitive.

His Character, — All historians unite in praising the
valour, justice, magnanimity, and kindness of Sultan
Sanjar, who was so universally beloved that his name was
read in the mosques for a full year after his death — an
unprecedented compliment. An interesting sidelight is
thrown on his character by his enmity to the poet Rashid-
u-Din, better known as Watwat, or " the Swallow," from
his diminutive stature. When Sanjar was besieging
Atsiz in the fortress of Hazar Asp,^ or " One Thousand

^ This tribe occupied a district to the east of Shiraz, with Ik, to the north-west of
Darab, as their capital. Marco Polo gives Soncara, evidently a corruption of this word,
as the " Seventh Kingdom " of Persia.

2 Situated between Khiva and the left bank of the Oxus.

' — .

ID
(/)

D
<

r-"

c
o

•I

Liii DISRUPTION OF SELJUK EMPIRE 125

Horses,** he instructed Anwari to compose a stanza cal-
culated to annoy his enemy and ordered it to be shot into
the town. The lines — somewhat colourless in a translation
— ran thus :

O King ! all the dominion of the earth is accounted thine ;
By fortune and good luck the world is thine acquisition :
Take Hazar Asp to-day with a single assault,

And to-morrow Khwarazm and a hundred thousand horses shall
be thine !

The stanza was duly received, and the following reply,
inspired by Watwat, was shot back :

If thine enemy, O King, were Knight Rustam himself,
He could not carry off from thy Hazar Asp a single ass !

Stung by the retort, Sanjar gave orders for Watwat
to be kidnapped, and when some time afterv^ards he was
caught, directed that he should be cut into seven pieces,
a sentence which does little to support the Sultan's reputa-
tion for magnanimity. However, a courtier said, " O King !
I have a request to prefer ; Watwat is a feeble little bird
and cannot bear to be divided into seven pieces : order
him, then, to be merely cut in two ! " Sanjar laughed
and the poet was pardoned.

The Revival of the Caliphate, — During the heyday of
the Seljuk dynasty the Caliphs were mere puppets, but
Mustarshid, who was Caliph for seventeen years from
A.H. 512 (11 18), took advantage of the intestine wars
then raging to aim at independence. He achieved his
object for a while, but on being attacked by Zengi, the
famous adversary of the Crusaders, he was forced to
submit. In the end he was assassinated, as was also his
son and successor Rashid, but under Muktafi the inde-
pendence of the Caliphate became more marked. Nasir,
who succeeded to the Caliphate in a.h. 575 (1180),
opened up relations with Khwarazm, and instigated
Tekish to attack Toghril, the Seljuk ruler of Irak. The
attack succeeded, Toghril was slain, and his head was
sent to Baghdad. The victor, who handed over some
Persian provinces to the Caliph, was recognized by Nasir
as the supreme ruler of the East. But these friendly

126 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

relations did not endure, and when Ala-u-Din Mohamed
endeavoured to depose the Caliph, as mentioned below,
the latter appealed to the far-ofF Chengiz Khan. In other
words, the head of Islam invited a horde of Mongol
pagans to attack a Moslem state.

The Kkwarazm Dynasty at its Zenith. — The death of
Sultan Sanjar was the signal for the break-up of his
dominions. Il-Arslan succeeded his father Atsiz on the
throne of Khiva, and, like him, suffered defeat at the hands
of the Kara Khitai — in a.h. 568 ( 1 172). In the following
year he died, and civil war broke out between his two sons,
Tekish and Sultan Shah Mahmud, in which the latter
was aided by Muayyid, the Governor of Nishapur.
Tekish inflicted a crushing defeat on his brother, who
took refuge with the Ghorids, and Muayyid was captured
and cut in two. In a.h. 588 (1192) Tekish killed the
Kara Khitai receiver of tribute, and in retaliation Sultan
Shah's claims were supported by the incensed Gur Khan.
In order to protect his kingdom, Tekish caused the
Oxus valley to be flooded, and the campaign produced no
definite result. Sultan Shah, however, was helped in a
descent on Sarakhs, which he captured, and his expulsion
of the Ghuzz from this district led to their migration
to the Kerman province. Sultan Shah afterwards took
Nishapur, and until his death in a.h. 589 (1192) was
a thorn in the side of his elder brother. Upon being
freed from this permanent source of danger, Tekish in
A.H. 590 (1194) overthrew Toghril III., the last Seljuk
to rule in Persia, and added the greater part of Western
Persia to his empire.

In A.H. 596 (1200) Ala-u-Din Mohamed, whose
career resembles that of Sanjar, succeeded to the throne
and extended his empire in every direction with such
success that in a few years Balkh to the north and Kerman
to the south acknowledged his suzerainty. He now
deemed himself strong enough to challenge his Kara Khitai
overlords, the murder of a receiver of tribute once again
constituting the act of defiance. He invaded the territory
of the Kara Khitai, and in his first campaign suffered a
severe defeat. In the following year, however, in conjunc-

Liii DISRUPTION OF SELJUK EMPIRE 127

tion with Othman of Samarcand and aided by the treachery
of Guchlukj as detailed in Chapter LV., he retrieved his
lost laurels and was able to annex the western provinces
of the Kara Khitai Empire. In a.h. 607 (12 10), the year
following this successful campaign, he captured Samarcand
and, killing Othman who had accepted his suzerainty but
had rebelled, made it his capital.

But this did not complete the conquests of Mohamed,
for he annexed the Indian provinces of the Ghorid dynasty,
and finally absorbed the two provinces of Ghor and
Ghazna. In the archives of Ghazna letters were found
from the Caliph Nasir, urging the Ghorid Princes to
unite with the Kara Khitai against Khwarazm. Incensed
at this proof of hostility, in a.h. 612 (121 6) Mohamed
summoned a council at Khiva, which deposed Nasir as
an assassin and enemy of the faith, and nominated a
descendant of Ali to the Caliphate. Thus, fortified with
legal documents, he advanced into Persia, captured Sad,
the Atabeg of Fars, and put to flight the Atabeg of
Azerbaijan. Mohamed was met by an envoy of the
Caliph, whom he treated with contempt, and from
Hamadan he was marching against Baghdad, which lay
at his mercy, when an extraordinary fall of snow accom-
panied by extreme cold caused him to abandon the
enterprise, and Baghdad was saved.

The Atabegs. — To complete the survey of the dynasties
into which Persia had again been broken up, some
account must be given of the Atabegs or "Regents."
This was a title conferred upon the slaves, or their
descendants, who acted as " father-lords " — for that is the
exact meaning of the word — to their young masters, and
in many cases gained independence and founded dynasties.
Salghar, from whom the Fars dynasty was descended, was
the chief of a Turkoman band which joined Toghril Beg,
and was taken into his service. The member of the
family who actually founded the dynasty was Sunkur,
who gained possession of Fars in a.h. 543 (1148) and
maintained his independence against the Seljuks. He
was an excellent ruler and was devoted to Shiraz, his
capital. The two next Atabegs call for no particular

128 HISTORY OF PERSIA

CHAP.

notice, and we come to Sad, who crushed the accursed
Ghuzz and annexed the Kerman province in a.h. 600
(1204).

A short time after this event the unhappy province was
invaded by an army from Khiva, which laid siege to the
capital without effect. In the end terms were arranged,
and the Khivans remained in possession. Sad also made
a successful raid on Isfahan. He became tributary to
Ala-u-Din, whose army he met near Rei when the Shah
of Khwarazm was marching towards Baghdad. The
Atabeg, with only seven hundred men, promptly attacked
and defeated a large body of Khivan troops ; but he fell
off his horse and was taken prisoner. He excused him-
self for his mad act by stating that he was not aware that
the army was that of Khiva, and, having agreed to pay
an annual tribute to Khwarazm and to give his daughter
to Jalal-u-Din, the heir-apparent, he was dismissed with
honour. In a.h. 623 (1226) Sad was succeeded by
Abubekr, famous as the patron of the poet Sadi, who had
taken his title from Sad's name. Abubekr showed much
foresight in conciliating Chengiz Khan, by which act of
policy he maintained his own dynasty and saved Fars
from the appalling calamities that befell other parts of
Persia.

These Atabegs of Fars were the most famous, but
there was also a dynasty of Atabegs of Azerbaijan, which
ruled from a.h. 531 (1136) to a.h. 622 (1225). This
family, however, never attained to more than local
importance. A Luristan dynasty was also established by
means of a force sent from Fars, and held sway from a.h.
543 (1148) to A.H. 740 (1329). Its reigning prince
made terms with the Mongols, and, as will be seen in
Chapter LVIL, Abaga owed his life to the courage of a
member of the family.

The End of a Great Period. — In history it is not always
easy to discover the true dividing lines, but the Mongol
invasion which swept across Asia is unmistakable, for it
inflicted a blow from which Moslem civilization never
entirely recovered. Not only were entire populations
blotted out of existence, but the cataclysm culminated in

Liii DISRUPTION OF SELJUK EMPIRE 129

the sack of Baghdad and the murder of the Caliph, after
which the Caliphate, the spiritual centre of Islam, ceased
to exist. This marks the end of what was in many ways
a great period.

Nothing is more interesting to one deeply interested
in the welfare of Persia than to watch how in the Abbasid
period Persian superiority in everything but the bravery
born of fanaticism reasserted itself, how when the arts of
peace flourished, Persian ascendancy was re-established,
and how later on Persian dynasties once more began to
reign in Iran.

Little can be gleaned of the condition of the masses
at this period, but it is reasonable to suppose that it
depended almost entirely on the strength or weakness,
the justice or the injustice, of the monarch and his
governors. There is no doubt that, as a ruie, there was
terrible oppression, for this is the normal state in the East
under an Asiatic government. At the same time it does
not altogether follow that the life of the masses was un-
happy because they were misgoverned. In many cases,
especially where villages escape assessment or can bribe
an assessor, taxes are extremely light, and the Persian
always loves the excitement attending the uncertain
incidence of the maliat^ or revenue.

VOL. II

From the "Diwan" of Nasir-i-Khusru.
[Tabriz edition in the British Museum {Pers. 798).]

CHAPTER LIV

PERSIAN LITERATURE BEFORE THE MONGOL INVASION

Bear before me to Khorasan, Zephyr, a kindly word,

To its Scholars and men of learning and not to the witless herd,

And having faithfully carried the message I bid thee bear,

Bring me news of their doings, and tell me how they fare.

I, who was once as the cypress, now upon Fortune's wheel

Am broken and bent, you may tell them ; for thus doth Fortune deal,

Let not her specious promise you to destruction lure :

Ne'er was her covenant faithful ; ne'er was her pact secure.

The Dtnvan of Nasir-i-Khusru.

The Birth of Persian Literature. — It is important once
again to draw attention to the fact that, although for
many generations after the triumph of Islam Arabic was
the only vehicle of thought and literature, much of this
literature was the work of Persian intellects. As the
years passed and Persia recovered from the Arab invasion,
her native tongue began to reassert its claims, just as,
some centuries later in England, the despised language of
the conquered Saxons began to be used in preference to
the French of the Norman conquerors.

The birth of a post -Islamic Persian literature^ is
believed to date from the era of the SafFarid dynasty, and
constitutes one of its strongest claims to affectionate
remembrance. Dolatshah, the author of the famous
Lives of the Poets^ gives a charming anecdote in which

^ For this chapter I have especially consulted Professor Browne'? work. I have also
found Fenian Literature by Claud Field of use.

130

CHAP. Liv PERSIAN LITERATURE 131

the little son of Yakub bin Lais is represented as lisping
the first Persian verse, and this, mere legend though it
may be, is of considerable significance as showing popular
belief on the subject. It is reasonable to suppose that
Persian poetry may have existed in Sasanian times, and
legends tell of Barbad, court poet of Khusru Parviz, but
as already stated in Chapter XLI. no traces of it are to be
found ; for all practical purposes such poetry may be said
to have come into being rather more than a millennium
ago, under the semi -independent rulers who governed
various fragments of the old Persian Empire.

During this period of one thousand years the changes
in the Persian language have been astonishingly small.
In English literature it is not every one who can enjoy
Chaucer, because there is much that is archaic and un-
familiar in the language, but Persian poetry has come
down to us fully developed, and is perhaps easier to
understand in its early natural simplicity than in the
more ornate artificiality which became, and has remained,
the standard of taste.

The Persian is naturally of a poetical temperament,
and in pleasing contrast to the latest songs of the music-
hall heard in England- is the classical poetry frequently
recited even by muleteers, while the educated classes can
quote freely from the great writers.

One of Browne's favourite authors, Nizami al-Arudi
of Samarcand, gives a curious definition of poetry which
is worth quoting. " Poetry," he says, " is that art whereby
the poet arranges imaginary propositions and adapts the
deductions with the result that he can make a little thing
appear great and a great thing small, or cause good to
appear in the garb of evil and evil in the garb of good.
By acting on the imagination he excites the faculties of
anger and concupiscence in such a way that by his
suggestion men's temperaments become affected with
exultation or depression ; whereby he conduces to the
accomplishment of great things in the order of the
World."

In the present chapter I make no attempt to condense
into a few pages the classical age of Persian literature, and

132 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

I propose only to touch very briefly on a few of the stars
in the literary firmament — which are cited in chrono-
logical order rather than in groups — without making any
pretensions to deep knowledge of the subject, which could
be acquired only by a lifetime of study.^

Rudagi, — The first great poet of Persia after the advent
of Islam was Rudagi, who flourished in the first half of
the tenth century ; among the most famous of his poems
is one which he improvised at the request of the army, to
induce his royal patron to quit Herat for the capital. It
runs, in Browne's felicitous translation, as follows :

The sands of Oxus, toilsome though they be,
Beneath my feet were soft as silk to me.
Glad at the friend's return, the Oxus deep
Up to our girths in laughing waves shall leap.
Long live Bukhara ! Be thou of good cheer !
Joyous tov^ards thee hasteth our Amir !
The Moon's the Prince, Bukhara is the sky ;
O Sky, the Moon shall light thee by and by !
Bukhara is the Mead, the Cypress he ;
Receive at last, O Mead, thy Cypress tree !

On hearing these lines, the Samanid Amir Nasr
descended from his throne, mounted the sentry-horse and
started off in such haste towards his capital that his riding
boots had to be carried after him ! Few ballads can have
had immediate success of such a practical kind.

Al-Biruni. — As I have shown in Chapter LI I., Persia
towards the close of the tenth century of our era was
divided up among various dynasties, all of which were
patrons of literature, and more especially of poets. Of sur-
passing splendour was the brilliant galaxy that adorned the
court of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna, who not only attracted
men of letters to his court, but used all his power with
weaker princes to secure their leading literary stars. A
classical instance is his request to Mamun, Prince of
Khwarazm,^ to send al-Biruni and Avicenna to Ghazna.
The former went willingly, but Avicenna refused to go
and took refuge at the court of Kabus.

^ Persian poetry falls generally under one of the following headings : i. Kasida^
elegiac or satirical poems. 2. Rubai (pi. Rubaiat), quatrain (our epigram). 3. Masnavij
double-rhymed poem, the vehicle of epic and didactic poetry.

^ He was a member of the first and less famous dynasty.

Liv PERSIAN LITERATURE 133

Al-Biruni^ was badly treated by Mahmud, who
behaved at times like a spoilt child, but he remained
at Ghazna and after the death of his royal patron published
the second of his great works, the Indica, The Chronology
of Ancient Nations had been published thirty years earlier
and dedicated to Kabus. Of al-Biruni it may be said that
in addition to his vast learning he possessed a fine critical
faculty and a sense of proportion, which, combined with
his devotion to the truth, make his writings invaluable
to the student ; they almost seem to be the work of some
deeply-read modern European.

Avicenna, — Abu Ali bin Sina was born near Bokhara
in A.D. 980, and, as already related, won the favour of the
Samanid Prince Noh at the early age of seventeen by his
skill as a physician. When the Samanid dynasty fell he
proceeded to the court of Khwarazm, but was forced to
quit it, as Mahmud insisted on his presenting himself at
Ghazna. Unwilling to do this, he fled by way of Tus to
Gurgan, where he was honourably received by Kabus.
Upon the deposition of the Ziyarid prince he finally pro-
ceeded to the court of the Buwayhid, Ala-u-Dola, at
Isfahan, where he died at the age of fifty- seven.

Avicenna was among the very greatest of the many
illustrious sons of Iran, and by carrying on and
developing the science of Hippocrates and Galen and
the philosophy of Aristotle and Plato he exercised an
influence on the best brains of both the East and the
West, not only during his lifetime but for many genera-
tions after his death ; his books, translated into Latin,
remained the standard works of Europe from the twelfth
to the seventeenth century.

Firdausi. — Supreme among the poets at the court of
Mahmud of Ghazna was Abul Kasim, famous under his
title Firdausi, the author of the great national epic the
Shahnama. According to the Chahar Makala^ he was a
dihgan or cultivator^ of the village of Bazh in the

1 Browne in his History of Persian Literature^ vol. i. p. 97, tells a delightful story
of al-£lruni's adventures at Ghazna.

2 Browne translates this word " a small squire," but this is apparently incorrect. To
quote from a report on agriculture written by me : " The unit of the plough includes two
men, one of whom is known as the Salar and the other as the Dihgan. The duty of the

134 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Tabaran district of Tus.^ This village I have been
fortunate enough to identify with the modern Paz or
Faz, situated twelve miles to the north of Meshed and
three or four miles south of Rizan, which is mentioned
below. The poet completed his great epic after a quarter
of a century of work in a.d. 999, and ten years later took
it to the court of Mahmud. Owing to intrigues and
imputations of lack of orthodoxy, the beggarly sum of
twenty thousand dirhems, or less than ;£400, was all that
Firdausi was granted, instead of a gold dinar or half guinea
for every couplet, as he was led to expect. In his bitter
disappointment he divided the money between a bathman
and a sherbet-seller, and then fled, in the first place to
Herat and finally to Tabaristan. By way of revenge,
he castigated Mahmud in a satire which in Browne's
translation runs :

Long years this Shahnama I toiled to complete,

That the King might award me some recompense meet,

But naught save a heart wrung with grief and despair

Did I get from those promises empty as air !

Had the sire of the King been some Prince of renown,

My forehead had surely been graced by a crown !

Were his mother a lady of high pedigree,

In silver and gold had I stood to the knee !

But, being by birth, not a prince but a boor.

The praise of the noble he could not endure !

The years passed, and Mahmud was in India, where
he encamped close to a strong fortress held by a rebellious
chief to whom he had despatched an envoy. He remarked
to his Vizier, " I wonder what reply the rebel will have
given." The Vizier quoted :

And should the reply with my wish not accord,
Then Afrasiab's field, and the mace, and the sword !

" Whose verse is that," inquired Mahmud, " for he
must have the heart of a man ? " The Vizier replied that it

latter is to plough the land and to sow the seed, and of the former to water the land.
Both are on an equality when the harvest is divided, but the Salar is, generally speaking,
the senior partner." My Persian friends assure me that Firdausi was a man of quite
humble origin and not originally a landowner, even on a small scale.

^ Vide my "Historical Notes on Khurasan," J.R.A.S.^ October 19 lo. The map
attached to the plan of Tus (Tabaran) shows the various places referred to and gives the
sites of the "twin-cities" of Tabaran and Nokan, w^hich I have identified.

fft" 'i>B^iSfe/

Fr\>i!t a fh(<to^ra/'h cy :Uc Aut'u^i .

THE SITE OF FIRDAL'SrS TOMB.

Liv PERSIAN LITERATURE 135

was written by Firdausi, whereupon the Sultan confessed
his deep regret that he had disappointed the poet and
promised that he would send him something. Accordingly,
upon the arrival of Mahmud at Ghazna, sixty thousand
dinars' worth of indigo was despatched to Tabaran on the
royal camels, with the monarch's apologies. But, as the
train of camels bearing the royal bounty entered Tabaran
by the Rudbar Gate, the corpse of Firdausi was borne forth
from the Rizan Gate. The daughter of the poet refused
the tardy gift, and, as Jami wrote five centuries later :

Gone is the greatness of Mahmud, departed his glory,

And shrunk to " He knew not the worth of Firdausi^'' his story.

I have quoted from the Shahnama more than once,
but the great epic entirely loses its sonorous majesty in
a translation. It contains all the legends as. well as all
the history of Persia known to its author, who drew on
Sasanian works and was faithful to his authorities.^ The
result is a poem which appeals to Persians as nothing else
does in their language, which makes them glow with
pride at the valour of their forbears and unites them
in their intense pride of race. Listening to its lines
declaimed by some fiery tribesman who can neither read
nor write, I have realized that on such occasions the
Persian lays bare his very soul.

Browne frankly confesses that he cannot appreciate
the Shahnama^ but the late Professor Cowell wrote the
following noble eulogy : " Augustus said that he found
Rome of brick, and left it marble ; and Firdausi found
his country almost without a literature, and has left her
a poem that all succeeding poets could only imitate and
never surpass, and which, indeed, can rival them all even
in their peculiar styles, and perhaps stands as alone in
Asia as Homer's epics in Europe. . . . His versification
is exquisitely melodious, and never interrupted by harsh
forms of construction ; and the poem runs on from be-
ginning to end, like a river, in an unbroken current of
harmony. Verse after verse ripples on the ear and washes
up its tribute of rhyme ; and we stand, as it were, on the

1 Vide Chapter XLI. p. 506.

136 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

shore, and gaze with wonder into the world that lies buried
beneath — a world of feeling and thought and action that
has passed away from earth's memory for ever, whilst its
palaces and heroes are dimly seen mirrored below, as in
the enchanted lake of Arabian story.'* Happy is Firdausi
to have inspired such a splendid encomium !

The Siasat-Nama, — In Chapter LIL some account has
been given of the Nizam -ul-Mulk as statesman and
administrator, and it was mentioned that he was also the
author of the Siasat-Nama^ or " Treatise on the Art of
Government." This great work comprises fifty chapters,
treating of royal duties, royal prerogatives, and adminis-
tration. It is written in simple language, and as it
embodies the views of the greatest of Persian administra-
tors, who adorns his narrative with numerous historical
anecdotes, it is one of the most valuable Persian prose
works in existence.

Nasir-i-Khusru. — Reference has also been made to
Nasir-i-Khusru, in the capacity of Ismaili propagandist.
But he was poet and traveller as well. The record of his
adventures is contained in a work termed Safar-Nama^ or
" Treatise of Travel," which gives in simple language the
details of his journey from Merv to Nishapur, Tabriz, and
across Asia Minor to Aleppo. He then performed the
pilgrimage to Mecca by way of Jerusalem, and finally
reached Cairo in a.h. 439 (1047). I^ ^gyP^ ^^ ^^^
initiated into the esoteric doctrines of the Ismailis, and
was awarded the title of Hujjat^ or " Proof," in Khorasan.
He gives a most interesting account of the prosperity,
good order, and justice prevailing under the Fatimite
Caliphs in Egypt, whence after a stay of two or three
years he returned to Khorasan. On this journey he
followed a southern route, visiting Isfahan, Nain, Tabas,
Tun and Sarakhs ; of these, Tabas and Tun afterwards
became well-known Ismaili centres. Of his poetry, the
Diwan is famous, its main theme being a strong insistence
on the Ismaili view of allegorical interpretation. As so
many of the great men of the period hailed from Khorasan,
I have quoted a stanza from his poem addressed to them,
by way of heading to this chapter.

Liv PERSIAN LITERATURE 137

Omar Khayyam. — Omar Khayyam, or the ''Tent
Maker/' is the best known of Persian poets in England
and America, owing to the genius of FitzGerald,^ indeed
it has been calculated that more than ninety per cent of
the ladies who enter the Oriental Library at the British
Museum ask some question about the bard of Nishapur.
But if his name is brought up among Persians they will
reply, " Omar Khayyam was a philosopher and an
astronomer." In other words, he is famous in Persia
as a philosopher and for his labours in connexion with
the Jalali era, referred to in Chapter LIL, and his reputa-
tion does not in any way rest on his quatrains.^

As already mentioned, he was a friend and, according
to one account, school-fellow of the Nizam-ul-Mulk, who
granted him a pension. The oldest account we possess
of him is in the Chahar Makala of Nizam i-al-Arudi, in
the section, it is to be noted, which treats of astrologers
and astronomers. Here is given the original story of
the poet's saying : " My grave will be in a spot where
the trees will shed their blossoms on me twice a year."
Nizami states that in a.h. 530 (1135) ^^ visited the
tomb of the deceased Omar, " seeing that he had the
claim of a master on me . . . and his tomb lay at the foot
of a garden-wall, over which pear-trees and peach-trees
thrust their heads, and on his grave had fallen so many
flower-leaves that his dust was hidden beneath the flowers."
This disposes of the mistaken idea that Omar was buried
beneath a rose-bush. On the dry Iranian plateau, where
nature is scanty in her gifts, the truly beautiful peach
and pear and other fruit blossoms play a far larger part
than in rainy England, where vegetation is so rich and
luxuriant.

I have twice passed through Nishapur and on each

1 Cowell wrote : "FitzGerald's translation is so infinitely finer than the original
that the value of the latter is such mainly as attaches to Chaucer's or Shakespeare's
prototypes." This may seem to be an exaggeration, but in my humble opinion it is
true.

2 sir Mortimer Durand once visited the late Shah Nasir-u-Din to proffer a request
from the Omar Khayyam Club that the tomb of the poet should be repaired. The
Shah was astonished and said, " Do you mean to tell me that there is a club connected
with Omar Khayyam ? Why, he has been dead for a thousand years. We have had a

great many better poets in Persia than Omar Khayyam, and indeed I myself " and

then he stopped.

138 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

occasion visited the poet's tomb, which, as the illustration
shows, is situated in an open wing of a shrine erected by-
Shah Abbas in memory of Mohamed Mahruk, a forgotten
relation of the Imam Riza. The Shrine is set in a formal
Persian garden, divided into four plots by cobbled paths,
which is by no means lacking in charm. Fruit-trees are
grown in it, and their blossoms still fall on the tomb of
the poet, which is cased with white plaster, but bears no
stone or inscription.

As to his famous quatrains, each of which, it is to be
remembered, is a complete unit, there is no doubt that
Omar wrote quatrains, but some of those attributed to
him are claimed to have been written by other poets,
Avicenna, for example, being the author of at least one
of the best known. When all is said, the fact remains
that Omar Khayyam, as interpreted by the genius of
FitzGerald, has touched a chord in our Anglo-Saxon
prosaic nature, and has thereby helped to bridge the deep
gulf which separates the dreaming East from the material
West.

The Kabus Nama, — No Persian work with which I
am acquainted is more interesting or amusing to read than
the book of moral precepts and rules of life composed in
A.D. 1082 by Kei-Kaus, the grandson of Kabus, the Ziyarid
prince. It deals in a charming and witty fashion with
duty towards parents, age and youth, hunting, polo,
marriage, education, the sciences of medicine, astrology
and mathematics ; indeed, few subjects are ignored and
we gain a real insight into the Oriental point of view,
everything being analysed in the most simple language
by a writer who anticipated the Polonius of Shakespeare
and also the Badminton Library. Incidentally, some fifty
anecdotes, many of historical value, enrich the work.^

Al-Ghazali. — Khorasan was a rich nursery of genius,
and among its great men Al-Ghazali, the famous theologian
of Tus, ranks high. To quote Browne : " He did more
than any one else to bring to an end the reign of philo-
sophy in Islam, and to set up in its stead a devotional

1 Its importance is indicated by the fact that it is being translated into English by
E. Edwards for the Gibb Memorial Series.

^ O
^ —

trj

a,
o

I'lv PERSIAN LITERATURE 139

mysticism which is at once the highest expression and the
clearest limitation of the orthodox Mohamedan doctrine/'
This eminent religious leader was born inA.H. 450 (1058)
and attracted the notice of the Nizam -ul-Mulk, who
appointed him a Professor in his Baghdad college, to
which I have already referred. After some years of
absence he returned to Nishapur, and finally to his home
at Tus, where he died at the age of fifty-one, venerated
by all and bearing the honourable title of Hujjat-ul-lslam^
or "The Proof of Islam." It is of special interest to
note that in 19 12 the authorities of the British Museum
acquired what is believed to be a unique copy of his work
on the doctrines of the Ismailis and other esoteric and
unorthodox sects, which should prove to be of great value
to the student.

Muizzi. — We have now come to the later Seljuk
period, which Browne terms " the period of Sanjar,"
whose writers, both in prose and in verse, are as brilliant
as those of the preceding period ; indeed, it is difficult to
decide which are the most worthy of mention. The poet-
laureate of Sanjar was Amir Muizzi, and I quote a few
lines from one of his odes, if only to show how early the
artificial poem superseded the easy and to me charming
simplicity of Rudagi.

Her face were a moon, if o'er the moon could a cloud of musk blow

free ;
And her stature a cypress, if cypresses bore flowers of anemone.
For if to the crown of the cypress-tree could anemone clusters cling.
Perchance it might be accounted right such musk o'er the moon to

fling.
For her rounded chin and her curved tress, alack ! her lovers all
Lend bended backs for her polo-sticks and a heart for the polo ball !
Yet if hearts should ache through the witchery of the Harut-spells of

her eye,
Her rubies twain are ever fain to offer the remedy.

To quote Browne : " Thus in the four couplets we
have the familiar comparison of a beautiful face to a moon,
of a mass of black and fragrant hair to musk, of a tall and
graceful figure to the cypress, of red cheeks to the anemone,
of the chin and heart respectively to a ball, of the back
of one bent down by age or sorrow to a polo-stick, of the

140 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

lips to rubies, and of witching eyes to Harut, the fallen
angel, who teaches magic to such as seek him in the pit
where he is imprisoned at Babylon." This is admirably
put, and it may incidentally explain why the European
does not as a rule care for, or admire. Eastern poetry.

Nizami-al-Arudi. — Frequent references have been
made to the Chahar Makala^ or " Four Discourses,** of
Nizami, which is a mine of useful information and throws
a clear light on the life of the time at the courts of
Central Asia. The " Prosodist," as his title may be
translated, to avoid confusion with Nizami of Ganja,
was at Samarcand, at Nishapur, where he frequented the
society of Omar Khayyam, and at Tus, where he visited
the tomb of Firdausi. But his post was that of Court-
poet to the Ghorid Kings, and in the " Four Discourses "
he mentions the "World Burner" as still living — a fact
that helps to fix the date of his famous work, which, on
Browne^s authority, is about a.d. i 155.

Anwari and Khakani. — We now come to a class of
panegyrists, the greatest of whom is Anwari, the Poet-
laureate and Astrologer of Sultan Sanjar. As Browne
writes : " These were poets by profession, artificers in
words and sounds, literary craftsmen of consummate skill
and ingenuity, and for this very reason they will not bear
translation, because their beauty is a beauty of words
rather than of thought." ^

The taunting verse shot into Hazar Asp by order of
Sanjar has already been quoted, and also two stanzas of
the fine poem on the devastation wrought by the savage,
Ghuzz, which prove that the poet could write something
better than mere formal panegyrics. Khakani was a
native of Ganja, the modern Elizabetpol in the Caucasus,
and was of low extraction. Having been taken up and
taught by an old poet, he became a brilliant star in the
literary firmament, notorious for the difficulty of his
verse, which is also extremely artificial. His poems were
mainly panegyrics, but one inspired by the ruins of the
Tak'i-Kisra, which I have quoted in Chapter XLL, strikes
a loftier note.

^ Lecture delivered before the Persia Society in 191 2.

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Liv PERSIAN LITERATURE 141

Nizami, — A very difFerent class of poet, and one
whose work it is easy for the European to appreciate, is
Nizami, who was also a native of Ganja but who avoided
courts. He wrote five romantic poems, famous as the
" Five Treasuries." These works enjoy an almost un-
rivalled popularity to-day, especially Khusru and Shirin
and Layla and Majnun^ scenes from which have constantly
inspired artists. From the former poem I have already
given a description of polo as played by Khusru and his
lovely spouse,-^ but the central theme of the romance is the
love of Farhad for Shirin, who was promised to him if he
cut through Mount Bisitun. The gifted engineer had
all but accomplished the impossible, when by Khusru's
orders false news was conveyed to him of the death of
the beloved one, and he expressed his woe in the follow-
ing lines :

Alas the wasted labour of my youth !
Alas the hope which vain hath proved in truth !
I tunnelled mountain walls : behold my prize !
My labour's wasted : here the hardship lies !

• • • • •

The world is void of sun and moon for me :
My garden lacks its box and willow tree.
For the last time my beacon-light hath shone ;
Not Shirin, but the sun from me is gone !

■ • ■ • •

Beyond Death's portals Shirin shall I greet,
So with one leap I hasten Death to meet !
Thus to the world his mournful tale he cried,
For Shirin kissed the ground and kissing died.

Attar, — The last poet of the pre-Mongol period is
Farid-u-Din, known as Attar, the dealer in otto of roses,
or more generally "the druggist." This remarkable
man was born at Nishapur about the middle of the
twelfth century, and apparently fell a victim to the
Mongols when his native city was sacked. The story
runs that he was seized by a Mongol who was about to
kill him, but was prevented by an offer of one thousand
dirhems for the old man. The poet, resolved on death,
persuaded his captor to await a better offer, which he did.

1 Ten Thousand Miles, etc., p. 337.

142 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Another Mongol, in scorn of the old man, offered a bag
of fodder. " That is my full value, sell me,*' said Attar.
The furious Mongol, realizing the deception, immediately-
killed him. Attar composed numerous works, the best
known of which is the Pand-nama^ or *'Book of Counsels."
His fame, however, chiefly rests on the celebrated poem
Mantik-ut-Tayr^ or "The Parliament of the Birds," an
allegory in which birds of different species unite in a
quest for the Simurgh, the mythical eagle referred to in
Chapter XII., the birds typifying Sufi pilgrims and the
Simurgh "the Truth." In the end the birds, purified by
trials, find that

Their ancient deeds and undeeds were cleansed away and annihilated

from their bosoms.
The Sun of Propinquity shone forth from them ; the souls of all of

them were illuminated by its rays.
Through the reflection of the faces of these thirty birds (si-murgh) of

the world they then beheld the countenance of the Simurgh.
When they looked, that was the Simurgh : without doubt that

Simurgh was those thirty birds (si murgh).
All were bewildered with amazement, not knowing whether they were

this or that.

A Criticism, — In concluding this brief notice of some
of the great writers of the period, I would urge that the
effect of the Persian climate and scenery on its poetry has
not been sufficiently considered by European authorities.
In the country round Nishapur, which is typical of most
other parts of the Iranian plateau, there is a high, naked
range to the north, the source of the streams of water on
which the irrigated crops depend. The wide, flat plain
is destitute of trees, which are grown only in walled
enclosures, where they also depend on irrigation. The
gardens of Persia, far renowned though they may be,
consisted, and still consist, of orchards and poplar groves,
with a few paths planted with roses loved by the nightin-
gale and with jasmines. They would not be thought
beautiful in Europe, because of the unsightly irrigation
channels and the lack of flowers ; but to the traveller
crossing the sun-blistered plains a combination of shade
and running water with nightingales is delightful indeed,
and contrasting it with the stony waste outside he forgets

Liv PERSIAN LITERATURE 143

to be critical. It may be objected that in the Caspian
provinces there are forests and a luxuriant vegetation
with masses of violets, primroses, and snowdrops, but
all Persians have ever hated the damp climate with its
malarious marshes and heavy air, and they can see none
of its beauties. In proof of this we find both Tavernier
and Chardin recording that " the air is so unwholesome
that the People cry of him that is sent to Command here.
Has he robb'd, stolen, or murdered, that the King sends
him to Guilan ? "

Practically aU the poets mentioned in this chapter
were natives of Khorasan or Central Asia, and were thus
accustomed to and affected by its steppe vegetation, its
rocky mountain ranges, and its bare plains. On the
other hand, they had the advantage of living in one of
the finest and most delightful climates in the* world, with
abundance of brilliant sunshine, an absence of extremes
of heat and cold, and, above all, a most stimulating atmos-
phere, which has helped to endow the gifted sons of Iran
with the marked personality that has been their- heritage
throughout the ages.

Mangu.

CHAPTER LV

THE MONGOL CATACLYSM

They came, they uprooted, they burned.
They slew, they carried off, they departed.

Tarikh-i-Jahan-Gusha.

The Awful Nature of the Mongol Invasion, — The history
of Persia as forming part of the Eurasian continent has
from one point of view consisted of a record of wave after
wave of invasion by tribes whose conquest usually was
attended with much human suffering. But no invasion
in historical times can compare in its accumulated horrors
or in its far-reaching consequences with that of the
Mongols,^ which swept across the entire width of Asia
annihilating populations and civilizations, and from which
Eastern Europe did not escape. Russia was conquered and
annexed ; Silesia and Moravia were ravaged after the defeat
of the Poles at the battle of Lignitz in a.d. 1241, and
another Mongol army under Batu laid waste the plains
of Hungary and defeated its monarch at Pesth. Europe
apparently lay at the mercy of the invaders ; but the death
of Ogotay, together with the mountainous nature of Central
Europe and its remoteness, saved the tender growth of its
civilization. On the other hand, neither Central Asia nor
Persia, nor to some extent Russia, has as yet recovered

^ The special authorities for this period are D'Ohsson's Histoire des Mongols and
Sir Henry Howorth's History of the Mongols. The former especially is based on trust-
worthy Moslem authorities, among them being Ibn-ul-Athir and the Tarikh-i-yahan"
Gusha^ or " History of the World-Conqueror," by Ala-u-Din, better known as Juwayni,
the Secretary of Hulagu Khan. I have also consulted A History of the Mongols of
Central Asia^ by Ney Elias and Denison Ross.

144

CHAP. Lv THE MONGOL CATACLYSM 145

from this human avalanche of seven centuries ago ; and
until quite recently in some of the churches in Eastern
Europe the litany included, " From the fury of the
Mongols, good Lord, deliver us."

D'Ohsson summarizes the facts in the following
burning words :

Les conquetes des Mongols chang^rent la face d*Asie. De
grands empires s'ecroulent; d*anciennes dynasties p^rissent ; des
nations disparaissent, d'autres sont presque an6anties ; partout, sur
les traces des Mongols, on ne voit que ruines et ossements humains.
Surpassant en cruaut6 les peuples les plus barbares, ils 6gorgent de
sangfroid, dans les pays conquis, hommes, femmes et enfants ; ils
incendient les villes et les villages, d^truisent les moissons, trans-
forment en deserts des contrdes florissantes ; et cependant ils ne
sont animus ni par haine ni par la vengeance -, a peine connaissent-ils
de nom les peuples qu'ils exterminent.

The Origin of the Mongols, — In Chapter XXiX. refer-
ence has been made to the Hiung-Nu or Huns who
fought with and drove westwards the Yue-chi about
200 B.C. ; it is believed by the best authorities that the
Mongols were descended from the Huns and that the
descendants of the Yue-chi were known as the Uighurs.
This is, however, ancient history and we may more
profitably turn to contemporary writers for an appreciation
of the new " Scourge of God."

The Mongols, or as they were more generally termed
in Europe the Tartars,^ were divided by the Chinese
writers into three classes, known respectively as the
White, Black, and Wild Tartars, whose civilization de-
creased with the remoteness of their habitat from the
humanizing influence of the sedentary population of
China. So far as history, as opposed to legend, is
concerned, the Mongols were one of the clans which
ranged the country to the north of the Gobi Desert

^ The correct form is Ta-ta. The sound, however, so closely resembled the
classical Tartarus that we find Matthew Paris, the Emperor Frederic II., Innocent IV.,
and St. Louis all playing on the word, the Emperor ending off his letter to Henry III.
of England with ad sua Tartara Tartari detrudentur. Consequently the form Tartar
was generally adopted. The Mongols themselves, who derive their name from mong
meaning "bold," averred that the Tartars were a tribe whom they had conquered, and
this view is adopted by D'Ohsson. The form " Moghul " has been applied to the
Mongols by Moslem writers and is frequently used, more especially with reference to the
great dynasty founded in India.

VOL. II L

146 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

and to the south of Lake Baikal. They spent their lives,
like other nomads, in breeding cattle and horses and in
raiding, and owed allegiance to the dynasty of northern
China, which, albeit derived from similar stock, regarded
these wild tribesmen with contempt. That they stood
very low in the scale of civilization is shown by the words
of Ibn-ul-Athir, one of D'Ohsson's chief authorities :
"As for their religion, they worship the sun when it
arises, and regard nothing as unlawful, for they eat all
beasts, even dogs, pigs, and the like."

In the main Carpini and Rubruquis,-^ whose missions
will be referred to later on, corroborate this testimony to
their evil traits, but give credit for splendid discipline,
bravery, and endurance : the Mongols' archery and horse-
manship, too, were superb. Their arrogance after their
conquests, like that of the Arabs, was unbounded. We
read in Russian history that the princes of the country
were bound to attend the Mongol Khans whenever
ordered, and among other humiliations were forced to
lick up any drops which fell from the Khan's cup as he
drank ! Their filthiness was abominable, washing being
unknown, and it is related of Chengiz that he would not
allow the word " dirty" to be used. When travelling in
Ladakh some twenty-five years ago, I was informed that
a rare sun-bath on the roof for the children was the only
form of cleansing the body practised there. In Central
Asia and Persia, where the Mongols are all Moslems,
they are still a dirty race, but the evil is mitigated by the
strictness of the rules of Islam on the subject of ablution.

The true Mongols have almond-shaped eyes ; they are
beardless and generally short in stature, but a virile race,
and, though clumsy-looking on foot, are born riders.
At the same time, in the struggle for wealth they rarely suc-
ceed at the present day against the more astute Persians,
and in Khorasan, at any rate, they occupy much the same
position as the Italians and Eastern Europeans in America.

Tissugay, the Father of Chengiz Khan. — The ancestors
of Chengiz Khan are lost in the mists of legend, but

1 Carpini and Rubruquis, edited by Dr. Raymond Beazley ; and The Journey of Friar
Wtlham ofRubruck, edited by W. W. RockliiU (both for the Hakluyt Society).

'^'

^
^

A NOMAD OF THE PERIOD OF CHENGHIZ KHAN.

(From Pien-i-teen. )

Lv THE MONGOL CATACLYSM 147

of his immediate forbears D'Ohsson gives some details '
which show that they were tributary to the Nuchens, the
Conquerors of the Cathayan line, who are also known
as the Kin dynasty. At the hands of the Nuchens a
member of the family of Chengiz, in punishment for the
act of a relation who had killed some of the royal officers,
was nailed to a wooden ass, a terrible punishment reserved
for rebel nomads. This deed called for vengeance, and
we first hear of Yissugay in the successful raid which
followed, when its leader, Khubilay, defeated a Kin army
and carried off rich booty. Khubilay' s brother, Bartam
Bahadur,^ had four sons, of whom the third, Yissugay
Bahadur, was elected chief of the tribe. He was evidently
an active and brave chief who subjugated the neighbouring
clans and made them fight his battles. His growing
power alarmed the Kin dynasty, which in pursuance of
its usual policy incited the Buyr-Nur Tartars to attack
Yissugay, and the latter died fighting against what was
probably an unexpected onslaught.

The Rise of Chengiz Khan^ a.d. i 175-1206. — In a.d.
1 1 62 a son was born to Yissugay, whom he named
Temuchin in memory of a chief whom he had slain, and
on his death, in a.d. 1175, this boy of thirteen succeeded
to the headship of the tribe. As might be supposed, the
little confederacy broke up, refusing to obey so young a
lad, and Temuchin, after suffering many hardships and
privations, was on one occasion taken prisoner. But he
was born under a lucky star, and gained victory after
victory until his reputation rivalled that of his father.
The Buyr-Nurs after falling on Yissugay had invaded
China, and the Kin Emperor induced the powerful tribe
of Keraits, who were Nestorian Christians, to attack them.
Toghril, the chief of the Keraits, who was known as Wang^
or " King," and who called himself Wang-Khan, was no
less a personage than the fabulous monarch so familiar
to medieval Europe as Prester John.^

^ Bahadur signifies *' brave," and it is an interesting fact that Khan Bahadur^ one of
the titles awarded to-day by the Viceroy of India, is derived from this source.

2 This was one of the questions which deeply interested Sir Henry Yule } vidt his
Marco Poloy vol. i. p. 231 (Cordier edition). A section of the Karai — Karait or Kerait is
simply a plural form — inhabit the district of Turbat-i-Haydari to the south of Meshed.

148 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

This prince was under great obligations to Yissugay,
who had protected him when a refugee and had aided him
to expel a usurping uncle and to regain the chieftainship.
Consequendy, when many years later he was again a
refugee, having been driven out by his brother, who had
the support of the Naiman — also a Christian tribe — he
bethought himself of Temuchin, and was welcomed by
the young chieftain. In a.d. i 194 we read that Temuchin
led a contingent against the Buyr-Nurs under the Kin
emperor, who commanded in person, and covered himself
with glory in fighting and crushing the family foes. For
some years after this campaign Temuchin fought with the
tribes on every side and gradually organized his power.
In A.D. 1202 he engaged in a trial of strength with his
former ally Toghril, who at first defeated him ; but in
A.D. 1203 he crushed the Keraits, who were thenceforth
his subjects.

Some time after this important success Tai Yang
Khan, King of the Naimans, attempted to win over Ala
Kush-Tekin, chief of the Onguts or White Tartars,
with the design of uniting in an attack on Temuchin
before he became too powerful. But the Ongut chief in-
formed the intended victim of the plot and he promptly
attacked the Naimans, whom he crushed. Their king
was killed, but his son, Guchluk, escaped and fled west-
wards. Among the prisoners taken by Temuchin was
Tatatungo, the Uighur Chancellor of Tai Yang, whom
the conqueror took into his service. Tradition attributes
the rudiments of civilization acquired by the Mongols to
this remarkable man, who taught the sons of Chengiz
the Uighur tongue and the art of writing, and who main-
tained his influence under Ogotay, the son and successor
of Chengiz. In a.d. 1206, so powerful had Temuchin
become, that he was in a position to assemble a Kuriltay^
or " Diet of the Nobles," and at this historical assemblage
he assumed the title of Chengiz Khan,^ or " The Perfect
Warrior.''

The Downfall of the Kara Khitai Dynasty, — Guchluk,

^ This name varies in spelling from the Cambynskan of Chaucer to the Zingis of
Gibbon.

u
r

>u\

■^

KARA KHITAN, SLIGHTLY BEFORE THE PERIOD OF

CHENGHIZ KHAN.

(From Pien-i-teen. )

Lv THE MONGOL CATACLYSM 149

the son of the Naiman chief, who escaped after the defeat
of his father, suffered great privations and led a wander-
ing life, but finally reached the court of the Gur Khan.
He was treated most kindly and given a daughter of the
monarch in marriage, and upon this occasion adopted the
Buddhist religion. No sooner had he estabhshed his
position and collected his scattered tribesmen than he
entered into a plot with Mohamed Shah of Khwarazm
and with Othman, Prince of Samarcand, to overthrow
his benefactor. Although in the first engagement he
was defeated, the forces of Khwarazm and Samarcand
carried all before them, with the result that in a.h. 608
(12 1 2) the Gur Khan was a prisoner in the hands of
Guchluk. In his stead the traitor ruled in a kingdom
which was restricted to the Tarim basin, with its three
cities of Kashgar, Yarkand, and Khotan. The empire of
Mohamed was extended eastwards into the heart of
Turkestan, and after he had captured and killed his
erstwhile ally Othman, Samarcand became his capital.

The Mongol Invasion of Turkestan^ a.h. 615 (1218).
— It is beyond the scope of this work to deal with the
three successful campaigns waged by Chenglz against the
Kin dynasty, from whom he seized many of their fairest
provinces ; but it is important to note that it was during
these campaigns that the rude Mongols learned the
necessity for a siege-train, which they afterwards employed
with deadly effect. The Great Conqueror subsequently
crushed the Merkites, a neighbouring tribe, and in a.d.
12 1 8 made his first movement westwards by despatching
an army of twenty thousand men to attack Guchluk.
The latter fled without attempting any defence, but was
overtaken and put to death.

The Outbreak of Hostilities with Khwarazm, — The
relations of Chengiz Khan with the monarch of Khwarazm
were at first friendly. The Mongol chieftain despatched
an embassy to Mohamed with gifts and a message
expressing the hope that the two rulers would live at
peace with one another, and declaring that he would look
upon Mohamed as his most beloved son. The Khivan
monarch, after making enquiries from one of the envoys,

I50 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

who was a native of Khiva, as to the armies of Chengiz,
dismissed the three ambassadors with a friendly reply,
although he realized that the invitation to be regarded as
a " son " constituted a veiled demand to recognize Mongol
superiority.

Not long afterwards Chengiz Khan bought the stock
of three Khivan merchants, with whom he sent back
Mongol representatives charged to obtain the various
products of Khiva in exchange for their pelts. On the
arrival of this rich caravan at the frontier town of Otrar,
the Governor, apparently in order to obtain possession of
their property, imprisoned the members of the party and
submitted a report to the monarch that they were spies,
as in all probability was the case. In reply he was
instructed to execute them, and duly carried out the
sentence. Chengiz had undoubtedly received the
despatches of the Caliph Nasir, whose intrigues are
mentioned in Chapter LIII., and to judge by his action
was on the look-out for a pretext such as the impolitic
severity of Mohamed gave him. Hearing of the fate
which had befallen the trading venture, he sent an
embassy demanding the surrender of the governor of
Otrar to Mongol vengeance, war being the alternative.
Mohamed, blinded by his earlier uninterrupted successes,
made war certain by putting the ambassador to death. The
first battle was fought against a relatively small Mongol
force returning from the pursuit of the Merkites, who
had been allies of Guchluk. The Mongol general wished
to avoid an action, but the Khivan army attacked and in
the end was victorious, although their left wing had been
broken, and the day was saved only by a brilliant charge
headed by the impetuous Jalal-u-Din, the fighting son of
Mohamed.

The Invasion of Transoxiana^ a.h. 6i6 (1219)* — The
awful torrent of destruction was actually set in motion
a year after war had been decided upon, and in a.h. 616
(12 19) the Mongol hordes were directed on the Sir
Daria at Otrar. Mohamed had collected a great field
army of 400,000 men to fight a decisive battle, but was
defeated between Ush and Sangar with crushing losses by

Lv THE MONGOL CATACLYSM 151

Juji, the eldest son of Chengiz. After this he resigned
the initiative to the invaders and contented himself with
garrisoning his chief cities, in the hope that the Mongols,
after ravaging the open country, would return home with
their booty. Consequently the task of the Mongols was
easy, and Chengiz was able to divide up his columns
without much fear that any single one would be attacked
by an overwhelming force. To his sons Chagatay and
Ogotay the siege of Otrar was assigned ; Juji, after
defeating Mohamed, continued his march towards the
province of Jand to the north, a small force of only five
thousand being detached to work upstream to Khojand ;
and Chengiz himself, accompanied by Tuli, the youngest
of his four sons, marched on Bokhara with the main army,
ready to accept battle if Mohamed desired to fight for his
throne. The siege of Otrar lasted six months, and its
Governor, knowing that he was a doomed man, fought
to the bitter end ; but, as no aid was received from the
cowardly Shah of Khiva, the city was at last taken. The
Governor held out for another month in the fort, but in
spite of desperate bravery was taken alive and brought
before Chengiz, who ordered molten silver to be poured
into his eyes and ears in retribution for his massacre of
the unfortunate merchants. Juji captured Signac after a
seven days' siege and Jand itself offered no resistance.

Bokhara was for some days defended by the garrison,
twenty thousand strong ; but the position was regarded
as hopeless, and an attempt to break through was carried
out successfully. The Mongols, though surprised, rallied
quickly and pursued the fugitives, who were cut to pieces
on the banks of the Oxus. Bokhara thereupon sur-
rendered, and Chengiz rode into the great mosque, where
the Mongols indulged in an orgy to celebrate their success.
The populace was collected and the rich men were obliged
to hand over all their wealth. The city was then sacked
and afterwards burned, and the wretched inhabitants were
divided up among their savage conquerors, whose custom
was to use the serviceable men for digging approaches, for
erecting the siege-train, and, if necessary, for filling up the
ditch of a city with fascines, which were supplemented with

152 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

their own bodies. The women were of course the prey

of the captors.

From Bokhara Chengiz followed the fertile valley of
the Zarafshan to Samarcand, which was strongly garrisoned
by forty thousand men. No resistance, however, was
attempted; the Turkish section of the garrison sur-
rendered, hoping for good treatment, and massacre was
their reward. Of the inhabitants, thirty thousand artificers
were distributed among the Mongols, an equal number
were taken for use in military operations, and fifty
thousand were permitted to ransom themselves, but in
most cases were afterwards seized for military operations.
Indeed, the whole country was denuded of its population.

The Pursuit of Mohamed and his Death^ a.h. 617
(1220). — We must now turn to the cowardly Ala-u-Din
Mohamed. He had watched the Mongol irruption from
Samarcand as long as it was safe to do so, but when there
was danger of being besieged in his capital he . fled to
Balkh, intending to take refuge at Ghazna. But he
changed his mind and proceeded to Nishapur, hoping
that the Mongols would return home after acquiring
such immense booty. His heroic son Jalal-u-Din in vain
begged to be allowed to defend the line of the Oxus,
exclaiming with generous heat that by this action they
would at any rate avoid the curses of their subjects, who
would say, " Up to now they have overwhelmed us
with taxes, and in the hour of danger they abandon us
to the fury of the Tartars." Mohamed declined either
to fight or to relinquish the command of the army to his
son, and hearing that the Mongols had crossed the Oxus
he fled from Nishapur, much as Darius had fled before
Alexander, and along the very same route, although in
the opposite direction.

From Samarcand Chengiz had despatched two bodies
of troops, each ten thousand strong, with instructions to
seek out Mohamed, to hold him if he intended to fight
a battle, and to pursue him if he fled. The division of
Chebe, passing by Nishapur, ravaged Kuchan, Isfarayin,
and Damghan, and, uniting with the division of Subutay
before Rei, surprised and sacked that city.

Lv THE MONGOL CATACLYSM 153

Meanwhile Mohamed had reached Kazvin and in-
tended to make a stand there. While he was organizing
an army, news reached him of the capture of Rei, distant
less than one hundred miles. His army, infected with
the spirit of its monarch, scattered, and Mohamed, after
nearly falling into the hands of the Mongols, escaped
into Mazanderan, and finally took refuge in a small island
off the coast. The craven monarch, though safe at last,
was dying, and he passed away leaving behind him a
reputation for pusillanimity which has rarely been
paralleled in history.

The Siege of Urganj^ a.h. 617 (1220). — After the death
of Mohamed three of his sons travelled by sea to the
Mangishlak peninsula, and on reaching the capital of
Khwarazm were warmly welcomed by all classes. An
army was collected, but a conspiracy being formed against
Jalal-u-Din he was forced to flee with three hundred men.
Crossing the desert in sixteen days, he reached Nisa, a few
miles to the south-west of modern Askabad, only to find
it held by a body of seven hundred Mongols. With the
courage of despair the heroic Prince charged and defeated
this force and reached Nishapur in safety. Two of his
brothers, hearing that a large force was concentrating on
Urganj, followed in his track three days later and were
killed by the Mongols.

The next operation of Chengiz was to despatch a
force under Juji, Chagatay, and Ogotay to besiege the
capital of Khwarazm. The Mongols on reaching the
city gates were attacked and pursued by the garrison,
which was drawn into a carefully prepared ambush, and
suffered heavily. Upon the arrival of the main army
before Urganj, the wretched Tajiks^ from other con-
quered cities were forced to fill up the ditches and the
artillery was then placed in position. The Mongols, how-
ever, failed in an attempt to capture the bridge uniting
the two parts of the town, and owing to quarrels between
Juji and Chagatay the conduct of operations was paralysed.

^ Tajik is the term used to denote the sedentary population, as opposed to Turk,
which employed in this connexion includes all tent-dwellers. It is the same word as
Tazi, which signifies Arab and still survives in the word used to denote the so-called
Persian greyhound, which was apparently introduced by the Arab Conquerors.

154 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

To remedy this state of affairs, Chengiz gave the
supreme command to Ogotay, who ordered an assault.
This was successful, and although the inhabitants offered
a desperate resistance they were finally obliged to beg for
terms, after having kept the Mongols at bay for more
than six months. The victors collected the entire
populace, and having gathered the artisans into a separate
class massacred the other males and enslaved the women
and children. After this atrocious act they turned the
waters of the Oxus on to the site of the city, and in
so doing diverted the river once again into its ancient
channel, which led to the Caspian Sea.^

The Devastation of Khorasan^ a.h. 617 (1220). — After
spending the summer in the meadows of Nakhsab,
Chengiz opened a fresh campaign by the capture of
Termiz on the Oxus, which barred the road to Balkh.
It was stormed on the tenth day and all its inhabitants
were massacred. He then went into winter quarters close
by and ravaged neighbouring Badakshan. In the spring
he advanced on Balkh, which offered no resistance. But
the conqueror, hearing that Jalal-u-Din was organizing
an army at Ghazna, deliberately destroyed the city and
massacred its thousands of inhabitants, preferring to leave
a reeking charnel house in his rear rather than run the
risk of having his communications cut Meanwhile Tuli
had been despatched to complete the sack and ruin of
Khorasan, which had already been occupied in parts by
Chebe and Subutay, who had left governors in some
of the cities. The inhabitants of Tus, seeing that the
Mongol ruler was isolated, had risen against him ; but the
revolt was easily put down by a body of three hundred
Mongols stationed at Ustuva, the modern Kuchan, and
on their demand even the ramparts of Tus were de-
molished by the terrified townspeople. Tuli began his
march into Khorasan in the autumn of a.d. 1220,
preceded by an advance force ten thousand strong, which
besieged Nisa to avenge the death of its chief, who had
been killed by an arrow shot from the city walls. Here
again the town was stormed, and men, women, and children

^ Vide Chapter II. p. 23.

Lv THE MONGOL CATACLYSM 155

were massacred. Nishapur was not captured at the first
attempt, and Togachar, a son-in-law of Chengiz, was
killed ; but Sabzawar was stormed and its seventy-
thousand inhabitants were massacred.

The Destruction of Merv and Nishapur, — The first main
operation undertaken by Tuli was the capture of Merv
Shahijan, the famous capital of Sanjar, which had recovered
from the devastation wrought by the Ghuzz and was at
the zenith of its prosperity and civilization. In proof of
this there is a letter written by Yakut, the eminent
geographer, at Mosul, where he had arrived safely from
Merv after many narrow escapes. He refers in glowing
language to the rich libraries, to the many men of science,
and to the numerous authors of Merv, and exclaims in
his enthusiasm, "Their children were men, their youths
heroes, and their old men saints.'* He then* laments as
follows : " The people of infidelity and impiety roamed
through these abodes ; that erring and contumacious race
(the Mongols) dominated over the inhabitants, so that
those palaces were effaced from off the earth as lines of
writing are effaced from paper, and those abodes became
a dwelling for the owl and the raven ; in those places the
screech-owls answer each other's cries, and in those halls
the winds moan responsive to the simoon."

The Mongol prince, having by means of false
promises obtained possession of the persons of the lead-
ing inhabitants of the doomed city, perpetrated a most
horrible massacre of over half a million helpless inhabi-
tants. Ibn-ul-Athir puts the number of victims as seven
hundred thousand, and the author of the Jahan Gusha at
a still higher figure. When it is borne in mind that the
inhabitants of the surrounding district would all have fled
to the city for protection these numbers are not incredible.
Five thousand inhabitants of Merv, who escaped the
massacre, were subsequently done to death by a troop of
Mongols which was on its way to join the main army,
and the place remained desolate until rebuilt more than a
century later by Shah Rukh.

From the smoking ruins of what had been Merv,
Tuli marched to Nishapur. Preparations had been made

156 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

for a vigorous defence, three thousand balistae for hurling
javelins and five hundred catapults having been mounted
on the ramparts. The Mongols on their side made still
greater preparations, including seven hundred machines
to throw pots of burning naphtha ; but in the event they
carried the city by assault and massacred every living
thing (including the cats and dogs) as a sacrifice to the
spirit of Togachar, pyramids of skulls being built as a
ghastly memorial of the feat of arms. The buildings
were then entirely demolished and the site was sown
with barley. I have shot sandgrouse within the area
surrounded by the broken-down walls of ancient
Nishapur, and I saw crops of barley growing in un-
conscious imitation of the Mongols' sowing.

The Capture of Herat. — The last great city of Khorasan
to be attacked was Herat. There a desperate resistance
was offered for eight days, but after the governor had
been killed Tuli received the submission of the in-
habitants and contented himself with putting the garrison
to death.

The Campaign against Jalal-u-Din^ a.h. 618 (1221).
— Jalal-u-Din after defeating the superior force of Mongol
sowars at Nisa, a feat of arms which constituted the first
success gained over any body of Mongols in Persia,
proceeded to Nishapur. Here he remained three days,
and then continued his flight towards Ghazna. One
hour after his departure from Nishapur, a detachment of
Mongols arrived on the scene and picked up his trail.
Jalal-u-Din fled at a great pace, traversing one hundred
and twenty miles in the day, but on his arrival at Zuzan,
to the south of Khaf, the gates were shut on him. He
consequently continued his flight towards Herat, pursued
for some distance beyond Zuzan by the Mongols, but
finally reached Ghazna in safety.

There anarchy prevailed, but the people rallied to his
standard and in a short time he collected an army, with
which, in the spring of a.d. 122 i, he marched north to
the neighbourhood of Bamian. He gained an initial
success by killing a thousand Mongols, which speedily
brought against him a force of thirty thousand men

Lv THE MONGOL CATACLYSM 157

under Shiki Kutucu, who had been posted to protect the
operations of the main army. This stationing of protect-
ing troops proves that Chengiz was not merely an able
tactician, but also studied the military situation from the
strategical point of view.

When the two armies met, the right wing of Jalal-u-
Din, which fought on foot, was broken, but on being
reinforced it rallied, and night closed in on an undecided
issue. The following day the Mongol general gave orders
for a felt dummy to be tied on each spare horse to make
the enemy believe that reinforcements had been received.
This ruse was nearly successful, but Jalal-u-Din was a
fighting Sultan and inspired his men with such courage
that, after a repulse of the Mongols on foot the trumpets
sounded a general advance, and the hated foemen were
driven off the field, many of them being cut to pieces by
the victorious Persians. Most unfortunately the division
of the spoils provoked a quarrel which resulted in the
desertion of the Ghorid contingent, and Jalal-u-Din,
hearing that Chengiz was advancing on Ghazna, found
himself unable to hold the line of the Hindu Kush and
retreated towards Sind.

To avenge the death of a grandson, the Mongol
conqueror wiped Bamian out of existence, not even
allowing it to be plundered, but oifering it up as a
holocaust to the slain prince. He then advanced on
Ghazna, which Jalal-u-Din had quitted a fortnight
previously, and made a forced march of such rapidity
that he overtook the Sultan on the borders of Sind, where
the latter was hoping for contingents to join him. Un-
willing to fight, Jalal-u-Din prepared to put the Indus
between his small force and the pursuing army, but he
was too slow and was hemmed in at early dawn. Fight-
ing in the centre with desperate heroism, he attempted
to break through, like a tiger charging a ring of elephants,
but in vain. At noon he mounted a fresh horse and
charged the Mongols ; when they gave way he suddenly
turned about, jumped from the high bank into the Lidus,
and swam across. Chengiz showed himself magnani-
mous on this occasion, and not only forbade arrows to be

158 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

shot at the hero, but held him up to his sons as a model

in valour.

Chengiz detached two units to pursue Jalal~u-Din,
but they failed to discover him. They then attempted
to take Multan, but the heat drove them ofF, and after
ravaging far and wide they rejoined the main army which
was returning to Tartary.

In the spring of the following year the city of Ghazna
was destroyed for military reasons, and at the same time
a force was despatched to annihilate Herat, which had
rebelled upon hearing of the success of Jalal-u-Din near
Bamian. On this occasion the resistance offered was
desperate, but after a siege of six months and seventeen
days the city fell, and it is said that more than a million
and a half of its inhabitants — an incredible number — were
massacred. A short time afterwards a body of troops
was sent back to the ruins of the city to search for
survivors, who were killed to the number of two
thousand.

The Return to Tartary of Chengiz Khan, — Before march-
ing north from India Chengiz Khan ordered the prisoners
to clean a large quantity of rice for the army, and, after
they had done it, massacred them all. He then in the first
instance decided to return to Tartary by way of Tibet,
but on realizing the difficulties of the route cancelled these
orders, recrossed the Hindu Kush, and proceeded to
Bokhara, where he received instruction in the tenets of
the Moslem religion and ordered the Khutba to be read in
his name. He remained inactive in Central Asia for
over a year and then moved slowly back to his own
country, which he reached in a.d. 1225.

The Devastation of Western and North-Western Persia, —
We must now turn to the armies of Chebe and Subutay,
which had captured Rei and had pursued Mohamed
to the Caspian Sea. Kum was their next objective ;
Hamadan was spared in the first instance, but Zenjan
and Kazvin were treated in the awful Mongol fashion.
Tabriz was spared in return for a large sum of money,
and the Mongols proceeded to the plain of Moghan,
near the south-west corner of the Caspian. Contrary to

Lv THE MONGOL CATACLYSM 159

expectation, they did not remain stationary but marched
into Georgia in mid-winter, and being reinforced by
bands of Turkoman and Kurds ravaged the country up
to Tiflis. Returning thence they next besieged Maragha,
which was destined to be the capital of Hulagu Khan,
and this was treated like other cities. The intention of
the leaders was to march on Baghdad, and the Caliph
Nasir in great alarm attempted to organize a force but
failed, partly because of the capture of Damietta by St.
Louis, a disaster which drew away some of his chief
supporters.

The difficulty of passing the mountain gorges saved
Baghdad on this occasion, and the Mongols returned to
Hamadan, which they now sacked. From this city they
marched on Ardebil, which they also sacked, and then
returned to Tabriz, where they were once again bought
off. Georgia was revisited, and by a pretended retreat its
army was ambushed and cut to pieces. After this exploit
the Mongols struck the Caspian Sea at Shamaka, near
Baku, and followed it up to Darband. Not content with
these limits, the fearless horde passed beyond the Caucasus
and drove out the Kipchaks, who fled in terror across the
Danube or into Russia. The Muscovite princes organized
a force to repel the invaders, but near the Sea of Azov
they were defeated and were put to death by being placed
under planks, on which the victors sat and feasted. The
districts near the Sea of Azov were ravaged, and the
Mongols, marching eastwards, crossed the Upper Volga,
where they defeated an army of Bulgars. After this
remarkable military expedition, during the course of
which the Caspian Sea had been almost encircled, they
rejoined the main army in Tartary.

Before we conclude this account of the appalling devas-
tation from which Northern Persia and the countries to
the north of it suffered, it is to be noted that another
Mongol division in a.h. 621 (1224) attacked Rei, Sava,
Kum, Kashan, and Hamadan, massacring the inhabitants
who had escaped from the earlier invasion.

To sum up, the testimony of all contemporary histor-
ians is that wherever the Mongols passed the population

i6o HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

was almost exterminated and the land reverted to desert.
In the Jahan Gusha we read as follows : " Not one-
thousandth of the population escaped," and again, "If
from now to the Day of Judgment nothing hinders the
growth of population, it cannot reach one- tenth of the
figure at which it stood before the Mongol conquest."
These words, even with all allowance for exaggeration,
express human misery at its deepest, and our finite minds,
the products of a civilized age, can barely grasp their full
meaning. Most fortunately. Southern Persia escaped the
Mongol blast of death, and it was probably owing to this
happy circumstance that the recovery was ultimately more
rapid than could have been anticipated.

The Death of Chengiz Khan^ a.h. 624 (1227). — The
last campaign undertaken by Chengiz Khan was the in-
vasion of Tangut, which was overrun and ravaged. The
Great Conqueror, feeling his end approaching, appointed
Ogotay, his third son, to be his successor and advised his
sons to avoid internal strife. He then passed away
in the sixty-sixth year of his reign. His body was taken
to his Urdu/ and, in order to prevent his death from
becoming known, every one whom the troops met on the
road was killed.

His Character and Genius. — Thus in a river of blood
passed to his sepulchre Chengiz Khan, who had destroyed
more human beings than any other recorded victorious
warrior, and had conquered the largest empire the world
had known. It must not be assumed, because of his
appalHng thirst for blood, that he was lacking in genius.
On the contrary, he had shown unquestionable genius
in his early career when battling, never daunted, against
adverse circumstances, and step by step he built up an
empire which raised the despised nomads of Tartary to
the lordship of Asia.

His organization was founded on a unit of ten men,
whose chief obeyed a centurion, who in turn obeyed the
comniander of a thousand, and so up to the commanders
of divisions. His policy was false, but successful.

1 The word means "Camp," and "horde*' is a corruption of it. The language
commonly known as Hindustani is more correctly termed Urdu, and derives its name
from the fact that it originated in the camp of the Moghul Emperors of Delhi.

Lv THE MONGOL CATACLYSM i6i

Before he attacked a kingdom, a summons to submit was
despatched in the following terms, " If you do not submit,
how can we tell what will happen ? God alone knows ! "
If the ruler submitted, he was bound to give immediately
a large sum of money and the tenth of everything,
including his subjects. Mongol governors were then
appointed, and the country was ruined by their exactions
and atrocities. If resistance was offered and the city
was strong, the surrounding country was devastated and
treachery was attempted. At this stage of the operations
an ambush was frequently successful. If the city still
held out, lines were dug round it by prisoners, who also
were driven to head the assaults, and attacks in relays
gave the besieged no rest. Moreover, the fact that the
Mongols possessed themselves of every known military
engine, and had even a corp of miners, is sufficient in
itself to show the genius for war that distinguished their
leader. In the field their tactics were admirable. They
understood the art of feigning retreat, of envelopment
and of surprise, and, as battle after battle was fought
and won against nations employing different methods of
warfare, the sum of their experience made them invincible.
The feelings of Chengiz Khan himself may be
exemplified in the following saying attributed to him :
" The greatest joy is to conquer one's enemies, to pursue
them, to seize their property, to see their families in
tears, to ride their horses, and to possess their daughters
and wives." ^

^ yami-ul-Tcvarikh.

VOL. II M

HULAGU.

CHAPTER LVI

THE EXTINCTION OF THE CALIPHATE BY HULAGU KHAN

Well It were if from the heavens tears of blood on earth should flow
For the Ruler of the Faithful, al-Musta'sim, brought so low.
If, Mohamed, at the Judgment from the dust thy head thou'lt raise.
Raise it now, behold the Judgment fallen on thy folk below !
Waves of blood the dainty thresholds of the Palace-beauties whelm ;
While from out my heart the life-blood dyes my sleeve with hues of woe.
Fear vicissitudes of Fortune ; fear the Sphere's revolving change ;
Who could dream that such a splendour such a fate should overthrow ?
Raise your eyes, O ye who once upon that Holy House did gaze.
Watching Khans and Roman Caesars cringing to its portals go.
Now upon that self-same threshold where the Kings their foreheads laid,
From the children of the Prophet's Uncle streams of blood do flow !

Threnody by Sadi.

The Division of the Mongol Empire. — By his will
Chengiz Khan divided the immense empire which he had
founded among his four chief sons, or their families — as
in the case of Juji, who had predeceased his father. The
division was made by the distribution of clans as appanages
rather than by strict territorial limits, which it was probably
not his wish to define. The third son, Ogotay, was nomin-
ated Khakan, or " Supreme Khan," and to make the posi-
tion clear I append the following precis by Lane-Poole ^ :

1 . The line of Ogotay^ ruling the tribes of Zungaria ;
Khakans till their extinction by the family of Tuli.

2. The line of Tuli^ ruling the home clans of
Mongolistan ; Khakans after Ogotay's line, down to the
Manchu supremacy.

^ op. cit. p. 205.
162

CH.LVI EXTINCTION OF THE CALIPHATE 163

3. The Persian branch of the lineofTuli : Hulagu and
his successors, the Il-Khans of Persia.

4. The line of Juji^ ruling the Turkish tribes of the
Khanate of Kipchak ; the Khans of the Golden and
White Hordes . . . and finally the Khans of Khiva and
Bokhara.

5. The line of Chagatay^ ruling Mawaranahr or
Transoxiana.

In A.D. 1229, two years after the death of Chengiz
Khan, a Diet of the Nobles was held at which Ogotay
was elected Khakan. He received the homage of all and
celebrated his accession by sending forty of the most
beautiful Mongol maidens " to serve Chengiz in the other
world *' ; horses too were sacrificed. He then distributed
costly gifts among his generals.

ihree Great Expeditions, — At this Diet three great
military expeditions were projected, the first of which was
the despatch of an army thirty thousand strong, under
Chormaghun, to attack Jalal-u-Din. The second army,
of equal strength, was to conquer Central and Southern
Russia, inhabited at that period by Bulgars, Kipchaks, and
Sukassines, and the third army, under the immediate
command of Ogotay, was to continue the conquest of
Northern China.

The expedition against Jalal-u-Din alone concerns
Persia directly, but the results of the other two may be
mentioned. The campaign conducted by Ogotay resulted
in the complete conquest of the Kin empire, which had
been only partially reduced during the lifetime of Chengiz
Khan ; but the Sung dynasty of Southern China was not
subdued until Khubilay's reign. In Europe the Mongols
carried fire and the sword across Russia to Poland and
Hungary from a.d. 1236 to 1241, and so widespread was
the alarm that, according to Matthew Paris, in a.d. 1238,
" the people of Gothland and Friesland did not dare to
come to Yarmouth for the herring fishery.'' ^

The death of Ogotay in a.d. 1241 necessitated a new
Diet, and this, together with the rugged nature of Central
Europe, which was unsuitable for the movements of the

1 Chronica Major a, vol, iii. p. 488.

1 64 HISTORY OF PERSIA

Tartars, and its remoteness in comparison with China
and Persia, probably saved Western Europe. But the
Mongols riveted their yoke on Russia and for two
centuries its national life was arrested, while it received
that Oriental tinge ^ which is so apparent to the western
European ; or, as Gibbon expresses it, " the deep and
perhaps indelible mark which a servitude of two hundred
years has imprinted on the character of the Russians."

The Campaign of Jalal-u-Din in India^A.u, 619 (1222).
— Having effected his escape from Chengiz Khan by
swimming the Indus, Jalal-u-Din collected the remnants
of his army to the number of two thousand men, who
were destitute of everything but valour. Thanks to this
virtue, they were able to rearm and remount themselves,
and Jalal-u-Din, learning that he was being pursued by
two Mongol divisions, retreated towards Delhi. Its ruler
Shams-u-Din Altamish,^ the best known and most capable
member of the so-called " Slave Kings," sent the Sultan
splendid gifts, with the hint that the climate of Delhi
would not suit his health and that he had better establish
himself at Multan. Jalal-u-Din, finding Delhi inhospit-
able, perforce retraced his steps, and invaded Sind with
the aid of reinforcements which had reached him from
Persia. But the Slave King was determined not to allow
so redoubtable a soldier to establish himself even in the
territory of a rival, and a league of Indian princes was
formed to drive him out. Thereupon Jalal-u-Din, seeing
that resistance to such a combination was hopeless, decided
to return to Persia.

His Return to Persia^ a.h. 620 (1223). — The daunt-
less Sultan traversed Makran more or less in the foot-
steps of Alexander the Great, and like him lost the
greater part of his army in its deserts, so that he reached
Kerman with only four thousand men. His arrival
happened to coincide with the moment at which Borak
Hajib, having killed the former Governor, was besieging
the capital, and the city opened its gates to Jalal-u-Din.
Borak Hajib, to whom we shall return later, at first

There are about five million Tartars still resident in European Russia and a
similar number of Jews.

2 Mohamedan Dynasties^ p. 295.

Lvi EXTINCTION OF THE CALIPHATE 165

treated his sovereign with due respect, but after the
capture of Kerman formed a conspiracy against him.
Jalal-u-Din was aware of the treacherous designs, but in
order to avoid creating a bad impression upon his first
return to Persia he ignored the plot, and after spending
a month at Kerman marched westwards into Pars. There
he was at first treated with cool politeness by the Atabeg
Sad, but afterwards became his son-in-law.

Ghias-u-Din. — Upon the retirement of the Mongols
from Northern Persia, a younger brother of Jalal-u-Din,
by name Ghias-u-Din, had obtained possession of Khor-
asan, Mazanderan, and Irak. Indolent and voluptuous,
this prince was not the man to restore a half- ruined
country, and the army transferred its allegiance to his
elder brother, who became ruler of Northern Persia,
Ghias-u-Din perforce submitting. •

The Campaign against the Caliph^ a.h. 622 (1225). —
After establishing his authority as Shah of Khwarazm,
Jalal-u-Din marched to attack the Caliph Nasir, the
enemy of his father. The campaign opened with the
siege of Shuster, which, however, proved impregnable.
He then marched on Baghdad and drew the Caliph's
army into an ambush, whereby he gained a decisive
victory, pursuing his defeated enemy to the gates of the
capital. He did not attempt to take Baghdad, but
marched north and invaded and occupied Azerbaijan.
Never content to organize the fruits of his brilliant
victories, Jalal-u-Din had no sooner won Tabriz than
he invaded Georgia, and in two campaigns captured
Tiflis, in A.H. 623 (1226). His next exploit was to
extirpate a tribe of raiding Turkoman, and in the follow-
ing year he ravaged the Ismaili territories and also beat a
Mongol force at Damghan, to the east of Rei.

The Battle of Isfahan ^ a.h. 625 (1228). — The Mongols
after this defeat appeared in greater force, and pursued a
Persian corps of observation to Isfahan, which was the
Sultan's headquarters. The Mongol army, composed
of five divisions, prepared to besiege the city, but the
Sultan marched out, determined to fight in the open.
Although deserted by Ghias-u-Din on the battlefield, this

1 66 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

intrepid soldier, who alone of the monarchs of the period
faced the dreaded Mongols, engaged the foe. His right
wing broke the left wing of the enemy, which it pursued
as far north as Kashan, and Jalal-u-Din thought the day-
won ; but on advancing he was attacked by a Mongol
corps d'ilite which broke his left wing. The Sultan cut
his way through, and although reported dead reappeared
at Isfahan after the Mongols had retreated with heavy
losses.

The Single Combats of Jalal-u-Din. — Jalal-u-Din was
now called upon to face a confederation of Georgians,
Alans, Lesgians, and Kipchaks. He detached the last-
named tribe by reminding them how he had saved the
life of many of them during the reign of his father, and
by way of a spectacle to both armies proposed to fight
the champions of the Georgians. Having killed success-
ively a noted warrior and his three sons, he was attacked
by a huge giant. His horse was fatigued, but nothing
daunted the gallant soldier leapt to the ground, disarmed
his opponent and killed him. Truly an amazing feat !
He then gave the signal, and his horsemen fell upon
the army of the Georgians, which fled before them.

In A.H. 626 (1229) Jalal-u-Din made peace with the
Caliph, who, in return for having his name restored in
the public prayers, conferred on the monarch the title of
Shah-in-Shah, while refusing that of Sultan.

His Escapes from the Mongols and his Death^ a.h. 628
(1231). — The Mongol army under Chormaghun, the
despatch of which has been already mentioned, found
Jalal-u-Din unprepared. Indeed he was surprised in the
Moghan plain where he was waiting for his army to
assemble, and barely succeeded in escaping. After this
his role was that of a fugitive, unable to meet the Mongol
army, whose general was particularly anxious to effect his
capture. He held Ganja for a time, and, after one more
narrow escape from the Mongols, was killed by a Kurdish
tribesman who was looking out for refugees to plunder.

Thus ended the brilliant career of one of the bravest
and most enterprising soldiers who ever lived. Had
Jalal-u-Din possessed the greater qualities of general or

Lvi EXTINCTION OF THE CALIPHATE 167

statesman, he would surely have been able to organize a
force capable of defeating the Mongols, and would thereby
have prevented the sack of Baghdad. As it was, he is
remembered in history as a dazzling meteor, perhaps a
prototype of Charles XII. of Sweden.

The Mongol Campaigns in Asia Minor and Syria, —
Chormaghun, realizing that Jalal-u-Din was not in a
position to offer any organized resistance, ravaged Mesopo-
tamia, Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, and
committed atrocities similar to those already described.
Ibn-ul-Athir states that the panic which prevailed made
the peasantry so cowardly that on one occasion a Mongol
who wished to kill a man, but was unarmed, told him to
lie down and await his return with a sword, and this the
unnerved victim actually did. As will be seen later, in
the eighteenth century the Afghans were able to treat the
citizens of Isfahan in the same manner, they too being
unable to move from fear.

The division commanded at first by Chormaghun,
and afterwards by Baydu, ravaged the provinces to the
west of Persia during the next twenty years, their cavalry
raids extending as far as Aleppo, and we learn from
Matthew Paris ^ that the Christian Prince of Antioch and
other Christian lords paid them tribute.

The Kutlugh Khans of Kerman^ a.yl, 619-703 (1222—
1303). — As mentioned in Chapter LIII., Fars and Luristan
were governed by independent princes termed Atabeg,
and escaped the Mongol terror by politic submission.
We now turn to the remaining province of Kerman.
Although like Fars its remoteness saved it from the
Mongols, it had, as already related, been devastated again
and again by the ferocious Ghuzz. The Ik or Shabancara
tribe next gained possession of the province for a short
time, but in a.h. 600 (1203) it was seized by an army
from Fars. Shortly after the exhausted country had
begun to recover under the ruler sent by the Atabeg of
Fars, a new power appeared on the scene in the person
of Khoja Razi-u-Din Zuzani with an army from Khiva
which destroyed everything that the other armies had

^ Pp. 876 and 937.

1 68 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

spared. Finally the Fars authorities withdrew their force,
probably on account of their relation to the suzerain
court of Khwarazm, and Razi-u-Din, after experiencing
some vicissitudes of fortune, obtained possession of the
province, which upon his death he bequeathed to his son
MaHk Shuja-u-Din.

Another new character now appeared at Kerman in
the shape of a certain Borak Hajib,^ once an official of the
Kara Khitai dynasty, who had transferred his services to
Khwarazm, and was proceeding to India accompanied by
a number of Khwarazm Amirs, with the intention of
joining Jalal-u-Din. Malik Shuja-u-Din attempted to
rob the party, but was defeated and put to death. Borak
Hajib, feeling that it would be foolish to neglect such an
exceptional opportunity, seized the province with the aid
of Jalal-u-Din and made good his position. He attempted
the life of his sovereign, as already narrated, and sub-
sequently captured and strangled Ghias-u-Din. With the
present of his head this disloyal, but only too successful,
adventurer won the favour of the Mongols, and Ogotay
not only confirmed him in his rule, but conferred on him
the title of Kutlugh Khan. The dynasty played no part
outside the Kerman province and does not appear to call
for further notice.^

Christian Missions to the Mongols^ a.d. i 245-1 253. — The
invasion of the Mongols, and more especially the awful
devastation wrought by them in Poland and Hungary,
had excited much alarm and horror all over Europe,
though not sufficient to cause a cessation of internal strife.
When it appeared improbable that they would attempt
to conquer Western Europe, the fear they inspired began
to give place to the hope that they would shatter Islam,
and rumours were also heard that there were Christian
tribes among the new invaders.

The views of Christendom found expression at the
Council of Lyons, held in 1245, which decided that two
embassies should be despatched to the Great Khan. Only
one of these reached its destination. At its head was

^ Haj'ib signifies Chief Guardian or Chamberlain.
"^ In Ten Thousand Miles, etc.y pp. 60-62, I have dealt with this dynasty more fully.

Lvi EXTINCTION OF THE CALIPHATE 169

John de Piano Carpini, a Franciscan, who made a won-
derful journey by way of Batu's camp on the Volga to
Karacoram, the capital founded by Ogotay. He arrived
there in a.d. 1246, at an interesting time, as a Diet was
being held for the election of Kuyuk to the throne
rendered vacant by the death of his father, Ogotay.

Two of Kuyuk's ministers were Christians, and in
consequence the Pope's ambassador had a friendly recep-
tion. Very different was the treatment accorded to the
representatives of the Caliph and of the Assassins, who
were dismissed with threats and menaces. To the Latin
mission letters were given, and, ignoring a hint that they
should be accompanied by Tartar envoys, they set out on
their long return journey, which was successfully accom-
plished. John died shortly after his return, but the
information he brought to Europe was of 'the utmost
value.

The next mission to be despatched was placed under
the Dominican Friar Anselm, who had instructions to
seek out the nearest Tartar army and deliver a letter
from the Pope exhorting the Mongols not to renew their
ravages in Christian countries and to repent of their mis-
deeds. In 1247 this truly forlorn hope reached the camp
of the General Baydu in Persia, and, as the friars brought
no gifts and refused to do obeisance, they were treated
with contempt " as dogs." Their letters, however, were
translated first into Persian and then into Tartar and
were read before Baydu. The monks were kept waiting
for an answer by the incensed Mongol, who, it is said,
thrice gave the order for their execution. But in the end
they were dismissed with the reply of the General in the
words of Chengiz : " Whoever will obey us, let him
remain in possession of his land, of his water, and of his
inheritance . . . but whoever resists, let him be anni-
hilated." The Pope was summoned to come in person
and offer his submission. These intrepid friars returned
in safety to Rome after an absence of three and a half
years.

We now come to the famous mission of William of
Rubruquis, who was despatched by St. Louis and reached

lyo HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Karacoram in 1253 ; by this date Kuyuk was dead and
Mangu, son of Tuli, had been elected Khakan. Mangu
accorded the envoy more than one audience, treated him
kindly, and gave him letters for his master, but he was
always half- drunk, and never committed himself to
acknowledging the Christian religion, as had been hoped.
Both John di Piano Carpini and William of Rubruquis
were great travellers and keen observers, whose courage
amidst constant danger and equally constant hunger
deserves great admiration.

Yet another traveller who merits a place on the roll
of fame is Hayton, king of Armenia, who reached the
court of Mangu shortly after the departure of Rubruquis.
He travelled by way of the camp of Batu and was received
with much honour by the Khakan. On his return he
traversed Transoxiana, crossed Northern Persia, and
reached his kingdom after completing a great round
journey, an account of which has fortunately been pre-
served to us.

The Administration of Northern Persia before Hulagu
Khan. — When Chormaghun was despatched by Ogotay to
attack Jalal-u-Din, the Mongol Governor of Khwarazm,
Chintimur by name, was instructed to co-operate by
occupying Khorasan. Many districts had previously
escaped devastation, but all were now systematically
spoiled. These proceedings were made difficult for
some time by two officers of Jalal-u-Din who waged
a guerilla warfare from the Nishapur Mountains, but
they were finally defeated near Sabzawar after a battle
lasting three days, in which the Mongols lost two
thousand men.

Chintimur died in a.d. 1235 ^^^ was succeeded by
Keurguez, his secretary. This very capable man set to
work to organize the administration and to repress the
terrible exactions under which the peasants groaned.
Later on, after clearing himself from certain charges
brought against him before the Khakan, he was given
the governorship of all the provinces west of the Oxus
and was able to rescue them from the cruel and impolitic
rule of the officers of Chormaghun. He chose as his

Lvi EXTINCTION OF THE CALIPHATE 171

residence Tus, in which only fifty inhabited houses had
been left, and the Persian nobles at once bought up the
land to build residences near him. Upon Ogotay's death
his widow despatched Arghun to supersede and arrest
this able official, who was put to death by having earth
ft)rced down his throat.

Under Arghun the taxes were at first levied with the
utmost severity by Sharaf-u-Din, his Moslem interpreter,
but after the death of the latter every eflFort was made to
secure good administration, and Kuyuk, upon his succes-
sion, confirmed Arghun in his government. Mangu, too,
approved of his administration, and in order to remedy
abuses by which the princes of the blood secured orders
on the revenue, it was decided that a fixed poll-tax should
be paid and that nothing else should be exacted.

The Appointment of Hulagu Khan to Persia^ a.h. 649
(1251). — Mangu was elected Khakan in a.d. 1251, and
upon his accession two great expeditions were decided
upon, one under his next brother, Khubilay, to China,
and the other under a younger brother, Hulagu Khan,
the founder of the dynasty of the Il-Khans, to Persia.
Hulagu with a strong army and a powerful Chinese
engineer and artillery corps started from Karacoram in
A.D. 1252, with instructions to crush the Assassins and
to extinguish the Caliphate. The Mongol prince moved
even more leisurely than was usual and did not reach the
borders of his command until three and a half years later.
At Kesh he was met by Arghun, who was accompanied
by the future historian, Ata Malik of Juwayn. This
able Persian served Hulagu as secretary through the im-
portant campaign that followed and was thereby enabled
to write a history from first-hand sources.

The Dynasty of the Assassins at its Zenith. — Reference
has already twice been made to the Assassins, who were
Hulagu 's first objective, and before we come to the ex-
tirpation of this noxious sect some account of their later
history is necessary. Hasan Sabbah lived to a green old
age and, having put to death both his own sons, appointed
his colleague Kiya Buzurg-Umid to succeed him. The
importance of the sect increased under this man and

172 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

under his son Mohamed, who died in a.d. i 162, and was
succeeded by his son, Hasan. This somewhat extra-
ordinary man disowned his own parentage and proclaimed
himself the descendant of the Fatimid Nizar. To further
his ambitions he convened an assembly in a.h. 559
( 1 1 64) and not only proclaimed himself to be the Imam,
but announced the abrogation of the letter of the law in
favour of its allegorical meaning. It is stated that the
term Mulahida or " heretics " was given to the sect
owing to this new claim, and by this name they are still
known in Khorasan. Hasan, after ruling for some years,
was assassinated, but his son followed in his father's foot-
steps. In A.D. 1 2 10 Jalal-u-Din succeeded to the inherit-
ance, and, completely reversing the policy of the sect,
declared himself an orthodox Moslem. He entered into
friendly relations with the Caliph Nasir and with neigh-
bouring Moslem princes and later on allied himself with the
heroic Jalal-u-Din of Khiva ; but he dreaded the power of
Chengiz Khan, to whom he despatched an embassy. In
A.D. 1220 he died suddenly, probably of poison. His suc-
cessor and the last Grand Master was a boy of nine, by name
Rukn-u-Din. In a.d. 1238 he despatched an embassy to
Europe, and we read in Matthew Paris that it was treated
coldly. An envoy visited the Court of Henry III. of
England to plead the cause of the Ismailis, but the Bishop
of Winchester probably expressed the public feeling in
the words : " Let those dogs devour each other and be
utterly wiped out and then we shall see, founded on their
ruins, the universal Catholic Church.''

The Extirpation of the Assassins^ a.h. 654 (1256). —
Hulagu was able to attack the Ismaili fortresses in detail,
and as the Grand Master possessed practically no field
army the sect was doomed. The storm broke first on
Khaf and Tun, which were captured, the entire population
being massacred except a few beautiful girls. Rukn-u-
Din in a fit of profound discouragement surrendered
many of his other fortresses, and finally his capital Alamut
near Kazvin and his own person, to the Mongols, who
thus eradicated the sect with the utmost ease. In
Khorasan and also in the Kerman province a few hundred

Lvi EXTINCTION OF THE CALIPHATE 173

of its followers still survive and are to some extent
protected by the British officials.-^

The Sack of Baghdad and the Execution of the Caliph^
A.H. 656 (1258). — From Hamadan, which Hulagu had
made his headquarters after crushing the Assassins, a
summons was sent to the Caliph Mustasim Billah, and in
the autumn of a.d. 1257, or more than a year after
accomplishing his first task, the Mongol prince, after
much hesitation and consultation of astrologers, marched
westwards to attack Baghdad fi*om the east in co-operation
with Baydu. The latter was instructed to march from
the north and attack from the west, the object evidently
being to prevent the escape of the Caliph and his subjects.
Mustasim Billah was an unworthy nullity, full of false
pride. Instead of profiting by the delay granted him
through Hulagu's love of ease and pleasure, he took no
adequate steps to collect troops, and above all, utterly
refused to unlock the doors of his treasure-house. Had
he been a capable ruler, he could very probably have
beaten oiF the Mongols, but the last of the Abbasid
dynasty was a sorry degenerate.

The two Mongol armies aggregated about one hundred
thousand men, whereas the Caliph, owing to his avarice
and folly, could not muster more than one-fifth of that
force. Resistance was offered at Takrit, where the bridge
over the Tigris was destroyed, and again at Dujayal ; but
the Mongols flooded the Moslem camp during the night,
making the position impossible, and only a few fugitives
escaped to Baghdad. The Mongols now advanced on the
heart of Islam and took part of the walls by assault.
Overtures were then made, and, like so many other deluded
victims of Mongol treachery, the Caliph surrendered.
According to the Moslem historians, he was done to
death by being tied up in a sack and then trampled on
by horses or beaten with clubs, and the story is not
improbable, since to shed royal blood was contrary to the
Mongol usage.

However, it is impossible to pass by the account

1 In Chapter LXXVII. an account is given of the rebellion of Aga Khan, the leader
of the Ismailis in the middle of the nineteenth century.

174 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

enshrined in Longfellow's "Kambalu/'^ according to
which Alau (as Hulagu is named) captured the Caliph, who
headed a sally from Baghdad (termed Baldacca) and was
caught in an ambush. The poem then proceeds :

As in at the gate we rode, behold,

A tower that is called the Tower of Gold !

For there the Kalif had hidden his wealth,

Heaped and hoarded and piled on high.

Like sacks of wheat in a granary ;

And thither the miser crept by stealth

To feel of the gold that gave him health,

And to gaze and gloat with his hungry eye

On jewels that gleamed like a glow-worm's spark,

Or the eyes of a panther in the dark.

I said to the Kalif : " Thou art old,

Thou hast no need of so much gold.

Thou shouldst not have heaped and hidden it here,

Till the breath of battle was hot and near.

But have sown through the land these useless hoards

To spring into shining blades of swords.

And keep thine honour sweet and clear.

These grains of gold are not grains of wheat ;

These bars of silver thou canst not eat ;

These jewels and pearls and precious stones

Cannot cure the aches in thy bones.

Nor keep the feet of Death one hour

From climbing the stairways of thy tower ! "

Then into his dungeon I locked the drone,
And left him to feed there all alone
In the honey-cells of his golden hive :
Never a prayer, nor a cry, nor a groan
Was heard from those massive walls of stone.
Nor again was the Kalif seen alive ! ^

The sack of Baghdad lasted for a week, during which
nearly one million of its inhabitants were massacred.
Writing forty-four years after the event, the author of
the Kitab-ul-Fakhri refers to it in the following words :
"Then there took place such wholesale slaughter and
unrestrained looting and excessive torture and mutilation
as it is hard to hear spoken of even generally ; how think

^ Kambalu or Xanadu is Khan-baligh or Pekin.

^ I wonder whether Marco Polo's account of Baghdad inspired Longfellow to write
this poem.

THIi SIEGE OF BAGHDAD BY HULAGU KHAN.

(From MS. of Jami al-Tawarikh, circa A.D. 1315. Bibliotheque Nationnle. )

(F. R. Martin's Mhiiatnrc Painting in Persia, Bernard Quaritch. 1912. )

Lvi EXTINCTION OF THE CALIPHATE 175

you, then, of its details ? There happened things I like
not to mention ; therefore imagine what you will, but
ask me not of the matter ! " Equally poignant, though
more formal, is the threnody which is quoted as a heading
to this chapter.

The sackof Baghdad was a more terrible event in history
than that of Merv or Herat, inasmuch as the city was the
centre of the Moslem world ; and the irreparable injury
to its civilization by the extinction of the Caliphate more
than six centuries after the foundation of Islam, by the
destruction of priceless literary and artistic treasures, and
by the massacre of learned men of all classes, defies
description. Moslem civilization was at that period the
shining light in the world, and it has never recovered
from the deadly blow. The awful nature of the cataclysm
which set back the hands of the clock of progress among
Moslem states, and thereby indirectly throughout the
world, is diificult to realize and impossible to exaggerate.

The Last 2' ears of Hulagu Khan and his Death^ a.h.
dfi'}^ (1265). — Hulagu lived for seven years after the
capture of Baghdad, by which his name is chiefly re-
membered. During this period he ruled as undisputed
monarch of Iran. He furthermore captured Aleppo and
carried all before him in Syria, until in 1260, after his
departure, the Mongol army was defeated by the Mame-
lukes of Egypt. As Howorth points out, this defeat
saved Egyp^ the last refuge of Moslem culture.

Maragha in the north-west corner of modern Persia
was chosen as his capital by the Mongol prince, and there,
in the interests of astrology. In which he believed as
foretelling the fate of princes, he built the famous ob-
servatory, the ruins of which are still visible.

During Hulagu' s latter years there was a revolt in
Fars, but the Atabeg Seljuk Shah was captured at
Kazerun, the half-way town between Bushire and Shiraz,
and his execution speedily followed. In Northern Persia
peace reigned because the land lay desolate and only a
timid remnant was left. So Hulagu died in peace and
was buried in the island of Tala, in Lake Urumia, where
he had collected the almost incredible wealth of the

176 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.lvi

Assassins and of the Caliphs. Shortly afterwards died
Dokuz Khatun, his chief wife, who as a member of the
Kerait tribe was a Nestorian Christian, and to whose
influence it was due that Hulagu protected Christians.
Indeed so far did this protection go that in a.d. 1260
Hulagu received a letter from the Pope expressing the
Sovereign PontifF*s joy at hearing that he was disposed
to adopt the Catholic faith.

Of the character of Hulagu little that is good is
known. He was certainly as cruel and as false as others
of his race, and he appears to have been addicted to
pleasure. Had he found a strong Caliph ruling at
Baghdad, it seems probable that his hordes, lacking a
leader, would have been beaten back ; but he was fortunate
in having to deal with weak and incapable men both at
Alamut and at Baghdad, and it is mainly owing to this
personal accident that Hulagu Khan, the founder of a
dynasty in Persia, is known to fame as a conqueror who
profoundly affected the course of the world's history.

Arghun.

CHAPTER LVII

THE HEATHEN IL-KHANS OF PERSIA

Brother David has arrived at our Court and presented letters sent through
your envoys to the Holy Father and other Christian Kings. We note in them
the love you bear to the Christian faith, and the resolution you have taken to
relieve the Christians and the Holy Land from the enemies of Christianity.
We pray Your Magnificence to carry out this holy project. We cannot at this
time send you any certain news about the time of our arrival in the Holy
Land, and of the march of the Christians, since at this moment nothing has
been settled by the Sovereign Pontiff. — Ansnver of Ednx)ard I. of England to
Abaga, dated z6th January 1274 (?i275).

Abaga^A,u. 663-680(1265-1281). — Abaga Khan,^ the
eldest son of Hulagu, was elected to succeed his father
with ceremonies similar to those observed in the case of
the Khakan, but he did not assume the full state of
royalty until his election had received confirmation from
Khubilay. One of his earliest acts was to marry a natural
daughter of the Emperor Michael Paleologus, by name
Mary, who, despatched as a bride to Hulagu, after hear-
ing of his death continued her journey to the Mongol

1 To make the relationship between the various Il-Khans clear, I append a table
taken from The Mohamedan Dynasties.

I. Hulagu.
I

IL Abaga.

I
IV. Arghun.

V. Gaykhatu.

I
Teraghai.

I
VI. Baydu.

III. Ahmad.

VII. Ghazan. VIII. Uljaitu. Alafrang.

IX. Abu Said.
VOL. II

Sati Beg. Jahan-Timur.

177

Ali.

Musa.

178 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Court. She is generally known as Despina or " Princess."
This alliance was a distinct sign of the times.

The Invasion from Russia^ a.h. 664 (1266). — Soon
after his accession the territories of Abaga were invaded
by the Mongols of Russia. There was a desperately
contested battle in the valley of the Kur, but the invaders
ultimately retreated, and Abaga, in order to protect the
northern entrance to his empire, dug beyond the Kur a
great ditch which he fortified and garrisoned.

Hayton^ King of Armenia and Bay bars of Egypt^ a.h.
664-665 (1266- 1 267). — Abaga also adopted a defensive
policy in the west, and ajffbrded practically no help to
Hayton, the King of Armenia, who was left to make his
own terms with Baybars, the Bahri Mameluke. The
latter, after gaining successes over the Crusaders, from
whom he captured Caesarea and other cities, invaded
Cilicia, defeated an Armenian army, and captured the
Armenian heir-apparent. Peace was made in the end by
the surrender of various cities, to which Abaga took no
exception, as all his resources were required to meet an
invasion from the East.

The Invasion ofKhorasan by Borak^ a.h. 668 (1270). —
In A.D. 1265 Khubilay had given Transoxiana to Borak,
the grandson of Chagatay, on condition that he attacked
Kaydu, the grandson of Ogotay, who refused to recognize
him as Khakan. Four years later these two princes made
peace, and it was decided that Borak should be supported
by Kaydu in an invasion of Khorasan. The troops of
Borak advanced as far as Nishapur, which they plundered
without serious opposition. But Abaga meanwhile was
preparing for the campaign and he was soon marching
eastwards along the trunk route which leads to
Khorasan. Upon reaching the district of Badghiz, to the
north of Herat, he sent envoys to Borak offering him
the provinces of Ghazna and Kerman ; but these terms
were refused. Abaga then by a clever ruse deluded the
enemy into thinking that he had returned precipitately to
defend his western frontiers, his object being to secure
a decisive issue to the campaign. A desperate battle was
fought near Herat. Abaga's left wing was broken and

Lvii HEATHEN IL-KHANS OF PERSIA 179

fled, but his right wing and centre bore down on the
Chagatay Mongols and put them to flight. Borak fell
from his horse and was nearly captured, but reached
Bokhara in safety, and there became a convert to Islam.
He then collected a force to punish those leaders who
had deserted him, but he never recovered from the fall on
the battle-field and died a few months after his defeat.

Tusuf Shah I.^ Atabeg of Luristan, — Abaga did not follow
up his victory, but returned immediately to Azerbaijan.
While travelling in the neighbourhood of Kazvin he was
suddenly attacked by a body of Daylamites. The Atabeg
of Luristan, Yusuf Shah I., who had materially con-
tributed to the defeat of Borak, prompdy fell on the
assailants and saved the life of his suzerain, who to mark
his gratitude added Khuzistan and three frontier districts
of Luristan to the Atabeg's princedom. *

The Devastation of Khwarazm and Transoxiana by
Abaga^ a.h. 671 (1272). — After the death of Borak and
the disturbances which ensued, Abaga despatched a force
to ravage Khwarazm and Transoxiana, on the advice of
his Vizier, who suggested this as an efi^ectual method of
protecting Khorasan. The cities of Central Asia which
had begun to recover from the Mongol cataclysm were
once more ruined, and as Chuba and Kayan, the two
sons of Algu, sacked Bokhara three years later, that
unfortunate city lay desolate for seven years.

The Battle of Abulistin^ a.h. 675 (1277). — To return
to the west, the successful campaigns of Baybars at length
compelled Abaga, much against his will, to send a
Mongol army to defend his western provinces. Baybars,
marching with his entire forces to invade Asia Minor,
advanced from Aleppo northwards and found the Mongol
army eleven thousand strong, supported by a body of
Turks and a Georgian contingent, at Abulistin. The
batde opened by a charge of the Mongol left wing on the
Egyptian centre, which was forced back on to the right
wing, while at the same time the Egyptian left wing was
thrown into disorder. Baybars then ordered a charge by
the whole line. The Mongols dismounted and poured
in a storm of their deadly arrows, but the Moslems,

i8o HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

exclaiming that it was a Holy War ensuring Paradise,
swept them off the field, with a loss of more than half
their numbers.

After making a triumphal entry into Caesarea, Bay-
bars, finding that the princes of Asia Minor dared not
join him from fear of Abaga, retired to Damascus, where
he died. Abaga, too late to retrieve the disaster, marched
through Asia Minor, inflicting punishment on those who
had failed in their duty with merciless severity, and upon
his return to Persia sacrificed the Governor of Asia Minor
to the resentment of the widows of his defeated soldiers.

The Battle of Hims^ a.h. 680 (1281). — Burning to
avenge the disaster of Abulistin, Abaga took advantage of
a revolution in Egypt to invade Syria, and a great battle
was fought near Hims, in the vicinity of the tomb of
Khalid, the famous Moslem general. As at Abulistin,
the battle began with a charge of the Mongol left wing,
which, however, was repulsed. The Egyptians in turn
charged and routed the Mongol left, but as an offstt to
this success their own left was broken by the right
Mongol wing, which pursued it to the gates of Hims.
There the Mongols occupied themselves with looting
while awaiting the main body, whose success they never
questioned. But meanwhile the Mongol centre, under
Mangu-Timur, the brother of Abaga, had broken and
fled, and consequently the Egyptians remained masters
of the field ; in the pursuit which ensued the Mongol
losses were heavy.^ This was the last expedition under-
taken by Abaga, who died in the following year.

The Intercourse of Abaga with Europe, — Christendom,
represented by the Pope, had, as already mentioned,
made friendly overtures to the Mongols, whose protection
of Christians had become known. At this period quite a
correspondence ensued with Abaga, much of which has
been preserved. Among the letters, that written by
Edward I. of England is of special interest, and is given
as a heading to this chapter. In pursuance of his policy,

^ An interesting contemporary account of this battle, which makes the Mongol
defeat seem less severe, is found in a letter from Joseph de Cancy, a Knight Hospitaller,
to King Edward I. of England. A translation of this document and of the reply to it
is given in Howorth's op. cit. vol. iii. p. 763 fF.

Lvn HEATHEN IL-KHANS OF PERSIA i8i

the Pope in a.d. 1278 despatched a Franciscan Mission
to Abaga and also to the Khakan, but it is beHeved that,
although some measure of success rewarded their efforts
in Persia, the Mission did not penetrate farther east.

The Moslems were undoubtedly enemies both of the
Mongols and of Christendom, and, as Hayton of Armenia
and the Georgians were faithful allies to their suzerain,
one at least of whose wives was a Christian, there is little
doubt that the intercourse was prompted by a genuine
desire to secure co-operation against the powers of Islam.

The Journey of Marco Polo in Persia^ a.d. 1271. — One
result, perhaps the only good one, of the Mongol con-
quests was that when the descendants of the conquerors,
growing more civilized, became anxious to repair the
devastation wrought by their terrible ancestors, almost
the whole of Asia was opened to the traveller. *We have
examples in Carpini and Rubruquis of missions reach-
ing Karacoram from distant countries in Asia and from
Europe, and these missions must in every case have
added considerably to mutual knowledge. In their wake
followed the merchant-adventurers, greatest of whom was
the illustrious Marco Polo,^ j lastly named " The Father of
Geography." It is of special interest to note that the three
great geographers of early days, namely, Herodotus who
lived in the fifth century B.C., Chang Kien who lived in
the second century b.c, and Marco Polo who lived in
the thirteenth century of our era, all described Persia, the
Highway of the Nations. Apart from any comparisons
which may be instituted, the actual value of the informa-
tion given is considerable, and in the case of the two
European travellers enables us to present a vivid picture
of the country.

Marco Polo started on his famous journey across Asia
to China from Lajazzo on the Gulf of Scanderun and
entered Persia at or near Tabriz, where a Venetian colony

^ The classic which deals with this subject is Yule's Travels of Marco Polo, one of
the most fascinating works ever written. A third edition has been edited by Cordier,
who is an authority on China, but not on Persia. In Ten Thousand Miles, etc., chap, xxiii.
is devoted to the travels of Marco Polo in Persia, and in the yournal R.G.S. vol. xxvi.
(1905), p. 462, I have discussed the question as to whether he visited Baghdad, as Yule
and Cordier believed. My opinion that he did not is supported by Beazley in his op. cit.
vol. iii. p. 49 fF. Marco Polo actually travelled with his father and uncle.

1 82 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

had been established some years before. He states that
its inhabitants " get their living by trade and handicrafts,
for they weave many kinds of beautiful and valuable stuffs
of silk and gold. The city has such a good position
that merchandize is brought thither from India, Baudas
(Baghdad) and Cremesor (the Garmsir or ' Hot Country ')
and many other regions, and that attracts many Latin
merchants, especially Genoese, to buy goods and transact
other business there.'* Marco Polo incorrectly describes
Tabriz as being in the province of Irak, and equally
incorrectly supposes it to be outside Persia. " Persia," he
says, " is a great country which was in old times very
illustrious and powerful ; but now the Tartars have
wasted and destroyed it." The next city mentioned is
Saba, now Sava, from which, owing to the resemblance
of its name to Sheba, the three Magi were supposed to
have set out to worship the new-born Saviour.^

Marco Polo, believing that he had entered Persia at
Sava, describes the country as divided into eight kingdoms,
a wholly inaccurate division, which does not call for further
notice. He refers to the fine horses and the " finest asses
in the world," and goes on to say, " In the cities there
are traders and artisans who live by their labour and
crafts, weaving cloths of gold, and silk stuffs of sundry
kinds. They have plenty of cotton produced in the
country ; and abundance of wheat, barley, millet, panick,
and wine, with fruits of all kinds."

From Saba the Venetian visited Kashan, still famous
for its velvets and silks, and from this important com-
mercial centre he marched south-east to Yezd. From
Yezd to Kerman there are two routes, by both of which I
have travelled, and I have identified the more easterly of
the two, via Bafk, as that traversed by the Venetian and
his companions. Not only are there date palms to-day
at Bafk, as mentioned by Marco Polo, but the altitude
of the alternative route is too high for dates to grow
there. Kerman, which was twice or even three times
visited, is described at greater length than any other city

Isaiah Ix. 6 runs, " The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of
Midian and Ephah j all they from Sheba shall come : they shall bring gold and incense j
and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord."

-^^^

Lvn HEATHEN IL-KHANS OF PERSIA 183

in Persia. Mention is made of its turquoises and steel,
which are not worked to-day. But the " exquisite needle-
work in the embroidery of silk stuffs in dijiferent colours,
with figures of beasts and birds, trees and flowers, and a
variety of other patterns,** is still to be bought, modern
Kerman being noted for its embroidered shawls.

From Kerman to Camadi in the Jiruft valley Yule was
unable to identify the road followed by the Venetian, the
entire district having been a blank on the map until in
1895 I discovered Marco's route, which ran across the
elevated uplands of Sardu to the Sarbizan Pass, and thence
descended rapidly through Dilfard to the ancient city of
Jiruft. Marco gives an accurate description of this section
in these words : " When you have ridden these seven days
over a plain country, you come to a great mountain ; and
when you have got to the top of the pass, you find a great
descent which occupies some two days to go down. . . .
After you have ridden downhill those two days, you find
yourself in a vast plain, and at the beginning thereof there
is a city called Camadi, which formerly was a great and
noble place, but now is of little consequence." In descend-
ing this valley his party was attacked by robbers and
barely escaped. He then crossed the low ranges and
emerged on to the plain and port of Hormuz or Ormuz
(referred to in Chapter LXIV.), where " Merchants came
from India with ships loaded with spicery and precious
stones, pearls, cloths of silk and gold, elephants' teeth,
and many other wares, which they sell to the merchants of
Hormuz." For some reason, either because of the unsea-
worthy ships, " wretched affairs " as Marco terms them,
or owing to a breakdown in health, the traveller returned
by another road, through either Sirjan or Urzu, to
Kerman, but the data given are scanty.

From Kerman Marco marched north to Cobinan,
which still retains its name as Kubanan. There he was
on the southern edge of the Lut, and I will again quote :
" When you depart from this city of Cobinan, you find
yourself again in a Desert of surpassing aridity, which
lasts for some eight days ; here are neither fruits nor
trees to be seen, and what water there is is bitter and

i84 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

bad, so that you have to carry both food and water. . . .
At the end of those eight days you arrive at a Province
which is called Tonocain." The word Tonocain is
obviously Tun va Kain, but the place on the map directly
to the north is Tabas, and it seemed reasonable to suppose
that the Venetian made for it. However, my inquiries
at that town in 1905 showed that there was no caravan
route from Kubanan, and that all caravans travelled via
Chah Kuru to Naiband and Tun.^ Consequently,
although it would be unwise to be dogmatic, I favour
the identification of this latter route, by which I traversed
the Lut from north to south in 1893.

After stating that Tonocain " has a good many towns
and villages," Marco describes the oriental plane or Arbre
Sol, "which we Christians term^^r^r^ Sec'' I have made
special reference to the treelessness of Persia, and it is
on this account that trees growing without irrigation water
are regarded as sacred. The custom is to make a vow at
such a tree that, if one's wish be fulfilled, a sheep will be
brought and sacrificed beneath it ; in token of the vow a
strip of the clothing is torn off and tied to the tree, which
thus presents a curious appearance.

Tun was in the province of Kuhistan, and it has been
mentioned in the previous chapter as having been sacked
by the generals of Hulagu Khan at the opening of the
campaign against the Ismailis. It is probably on this
account that, after a reference to its " surpassingly beauti-
ful women," Marco gives the account of the " Old Man
of the Mountain," which has been quoted in Chapter LII.
Possibly owing to a lacuna in the manuscript, no details
are given of the illustrious Venetian's onward journey,
which probably ran by Nishapur and Sarakhs, and the
next place mentioned is Sapurgan or Shibrkan, in Afghan
Turkestan. In any case Marco had now passed beyond
the limits of modern Iran, and for the time being we may
bid him farewell.

Ahmad^ a.h. 680-683 (1281-1284). — The death of
Abaga gave rise to many intrigues, and ultimately Tagudar
Oghlu, a brother of the deceased monarch, was elected to

^ Journal R.G.S. vol. xxvi. (1905).

Lvii HEATHEN IL-KHANS OF PERSIA 185

succeed to the throne, Arghun, the eldest son of Abaga,
being passed over. Tagudar, who had been baptized a
Christian under the name of Nicolas, proclaimed himself
a Moslem under the name of Ahmad upon his accession,
and despatched an embassy to Kalaun of Egypt to announce
the fact and to make profession of his friendly intentions.
These were reciprocated by the Mameluke sovereign, who,
however, forced the Mongol ambassadors to travel at
night, and was careful not to allow them to have any
contact with his subjects.

Arghun, being dissatisfied with the results of the
election, rebelled, and being defeated took refuge in the
natural fortress of Kalat-i-Nadiri, where the entrance
towards the west is still known as Darband-i-Arghun, or
Argawan. He was, however, induced to submit to his
uncle, who received him kindly but kept him* in confine-
ment. Meanwhile a strong party in the army, which
resented Ahmad's conversion to Islam and the favour
shown to Moslems, conspired to rescue the young Prince.
The army declared for the latter and Ahmad fled, but was
captured and killed by having his back broken.

The Reign of Arghun^ a.h. 683-690 (i 284-1 291). —
The reign of Arghun was not eventful, and for some years
there was nothing worthy of record except a conspiracy
formed by Boukai, who had been instrumental in rescuing
him from his uncle's hands and had been given almost
supreme power. This plot was revealed, and Boukai and
his family with the other conspirators were put to death.
The execution caused a rebellion in Khorasan, which was
the appanage of Ghazan, son of Arghun, and Ghazan's
general rebelled from fear of being put to death as a
friend of the late conspirator. He attacked Ghazan, who
was encamped on the banks of the Kashaf Rud, the river
of Tus and of Meshed, but the Prince succeeded in
escaping, only, however, to be defeated later on near Tus.
Ghazan rallied his forces at Kalposh near Nardin, and
having received strong reinforcements, was able to drive
the rebel general out of Persia.

Arghun during his short reign evinced much favour
towards Christians, and made proposals in 1289, and again

1 86 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

two years later, to the powers of Christendom for a joint
attack on the Moslems in the Holy Land ; but the fall
of Acre in 1291 sealed the fate of European domination
in Syria, which, after two centuries of vicissitude, ceased
to exist. As in the case of his predecessor, letters were
exchanged, hopes were excited, and little was actually

done.

John de Monte Corvino, — The leading missionary of
the age was John de Monte Corvino, a Franciscan friar
who was working in the Levant at this period, and who
reported to the Pope his high hopes of the conversion of
Arghun. Consequently he was despatched with many,
letters, and, passing through Tabriz, proceeded to distant
China, where he founded a flourishing church.

Gaykhatu^ A,H, 690-694 {i2()i-i2()S\and BaydUyA.w,
694 (1295). — Upon the death of Arghun the generals who
had usurped the power sent envoys to Ghazan his son,
to Gaykhatu his brother, and to Baydu his cousin. Their
first decision was to offer the succession to Gaykhatu. A
few days later, however, they regretted their choice and
decided to raise Baydu to the throne, but being prudent
he declined the offer and Gaykhatu was thereupon elected.
He was lavish in his expenditure, and when the treasury
was empty he attempted, in imitation of Khubilay, to
issue bank-notes ; but the measure was so unpopular
that it was speedily cancelled.

The folly of Gaykhatu and his unbridled excesses of
every description alienated the Mongol generals, and
when Baydu, who had been struck and insulted by his
cousin, rebelled, the unhappy monarch was deserted with
sinister suddenness and strangled. Nor was Baydu, his
successor, more fortunate, as he held the throne for less
than a year and was in turn deserted by his generals in
favour of Ghazan, by whose orders he was put to death.
With Baydu ended the period of the heathen Il-Khans.
It is specially noteworthy that, whereas only twelve years
before Ahmad had lost his throne partly, at any rate,
owing to his zeal for Islam, the deposition and death of
Baydu were due mainly to his hostility to that religion
and to his predilection for Christianity.

Lvii HEATHEN IL-KHANS OF PERSIA 187

The Return of Marco Pok to Persia^ a.d. 1294. —
Arghun had despatched an embassy to Khubilay to ask
for the hand of a Princess of the Royal House, and in
A.D. 1292 Marco Polo was entrusted with the perilous
dut}" of escorting the lady Kokachin " moult bele dame et
avenant" from China to Persia. Khubilay, upon dis-
missing the Venetian, gave him " two golden Tablets of
Authority. He charged him also with messages to the
King of France, the King of England, the King of Spain,
and the other Kings of Christendom.'*

The land route being rejected as too fatiguing, the
intrepid Venetian sailed from China with a well-equipped
squadron of thirteen ships and a large retinue ; but
during the two years which the voyage occupied almost
every one died, " so that only eight survived.'* Upon
reaching Hormuz, in a.d. 1294, Marco heard t)f the death
of Arghun, and, having reported his arrival to Gaykhatu,
was instructed to take the Princess to Ghazan Khan, who
was at this time in Kuhistan. It is therefore probable
that he followed the same route as he originally took
from Hormuz to Tun, and from the camp of Ghazan to
Tabriz he presumably followed the trunk route which
skirts the Elburz. At the capital he was treated with
great distinction ; and his epoch-making journey, or
series of journeys, was brought to a happy conclusion
in A.D. 1295 or the following year, when, after an absence
of a quarter of a century, the way-weary Venetian reached
his home.

Ghazan.

CHAPTER LVIII

GHAZAN KHAN, THE GREAT IL-KHAN

That which was most admirable was that in such a small body more fine
qualities existed than could be imagined. Among his soldiers scarcely one
could be found as small and as ugly in face as he was, but yet he surpassed
them all in virtue and integrity. — Hay ton of Armenia on Ghazan Khan.

The Accession of Ghazan^ a.h. 694 (1295). — Ghazan
upon his accession proclaimed himself a Moslem and on
this account repudiated the suzerainty of the Khakans,
who were, of course, heathen. To mark this step, which
was, in fact, the opening of a new period, he substituted
the Moslem confession of faith on his coins for the name
and titles of the Khakan. Furthermore, with the zeal
of a convert, he destroyed Christian, Jewish, and pagan
temples alike, until the King of Armenia interceded with
him, after which he demolished only the temples of the
pagans.

The earlier part of his short reign of nine years was
filled with rebellions and disturbances, the invasion of
Khorasan from Transoxiana falling into the latter category.
The two chief supporters of Ghazan were Togatchar and
Noruz, but he suspected their loyalty and determined to
put them to death. The execution of the former was
accomplished by treachery. Noruz, on the other hand,
escaped and took refuge with Fakhr-u-Din, the Kart
ruler of Herat ; but he was surrendered to the repre-
sentative of Ghazan and immediately executed. Many
other chiefs and officials were put to death during this
reign.

188

CHAP. Lviii GHAZAN KHAN 189

His First Syrian Campaign^ a.h. 699 (1299). — After
successfully putting down these rebellions, which the
fate of recent II -Khans had encouraged, Ghazan took
advantage of the weakness of the Mameluke empire, which
was suffering from internal troubles, and invaded Syria.
He crossed the Euphrates with an army ninety thousand
strong and moved on Aleppo ; instead of besieging it,
however, he marched to meet the Egyptian army. The
decisive battle was fought at Hims, where formerly the
Mongol arms had met with disaster. On this occasion
the centre under Ghazan was nearly broken by the charge
of the heavily^ armed Mamelukes, but the Il-Khan dis-
mounted his men, who used their horses as a rampart
from behind which they kept up a heavy fire of arrows.
These tactics threw the Mamelukes into disorder owing
to the numbers of their horses that were killedj and when
the Mongol wings had repulsed the Egyptians by the
same device, a general advance, headed by the deadly
archers on foot, completed the victory.

The change that Islam had made in the customs of
the Mongols is clearly seen by Ghazan's treatment of
Damascus. He received the submission of the city and
issued a proclamation with many quotations from the
Koran, to the effect that he had come to deliver Syria
from a reprobate monarch and that no harm would be
done to any one. Moreover, he kept the soldiery out of
the city and did not even allow the gardens for which the
place is famous to be damaged. Nevertheless, in spite of
Ghazan's humane intentions, Damascus did not escape
severe suffering, owing mainly to the hatred of the
Il-Khan's Armenian allies and the difficulty of restraining
troops accustomed to plunder. After remaining until
the contribution fixed by him had been fully paid, Ghazan
marched back across the Euphrates, leaving a force to
hold his conquests ; but on the organization of a fresh
army at Cairo the Mongols retreated, and Syria reverted
to its Egyptian masters.

The Raiding of Southern Persia from Transoxiana. —
During the absence of Ghazan in Syria, Kutlugh Shah,
the Chagatay Prince of Transoxiana, sent a force of ten

190 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

thousand men to raid Southern Persia. The province of
Kerman lay desolate, as Mahmud Shah, its drunken prince,
had revolted and the troops of Ghazan had been quartered
on it for a year ; indeed, so depopulated was the country
that only one thousand Afghans were met with, who were
attacked and robbed of their families and possessions.
At Shiraz there was no garrison to defend the city, but
the inhabitants armed themselves, and for once the well-
worn ruse of an ambuscade failed to lure them from
the security of their walls. Consequently no attack was
attempted on the capital of Fars, and the raiders, plunging
into the " Hot Country " at Kazerun, looted the nomads
of the province, and entered Khuzistan. The force
finally assembled at Hormuz in Khuzistan for the return
march, but being encumbered with thousands of animals
they suffered severe losses, and were obliged to leave
behind all their booty.

The Defeat of the Mongols in Syria^ a.m. 702 (1303). —
In A.H. 700 (1301) Ghazan made a second incursion into
Syria, but was foiled by the bad weather and retired after
sustaining heavy losses in his transport. Two years later
he once again crossed the Euphrates, but on this occasion,
after securing a minor success, he retired to watch events
from the left bank of the Tigris. Kutlugh Shah, who
commanded his army fifty thousand strong, met the
Egyptian army in the vicinity of Damascus. This battle
also was chequered, the right wing of the Egyptians
giving way and causing a panic in Damascus, while the
left wing stood firm, and compelled the invaders to retire
to the hills for the night. In the morning the battle was
renewed, with the result that the Mongols, who were
suflFering from lack of water, attempted to break through
and flee, and being permitted to do so were followed up
and cut to pieces.

The Relations of Ghazan with Byzantium and the Western
Powers. — In a.h. 702 (1302) Ghazan received an embassy
from Andronicus the Elder, who oflFered him the hand of
a Greek princess and begged that the Turks of Asia
Minor might be ordered to cease their raids into his
territories. Little did the Emperor realize that these

P3
<

o
c

Lviii GHAZAN KHAN

191

same Turks, whose rise dates from this period, were
destined to capture Byzantium and to hold in subjection
provinces of Europe.

With the Western states of Europe Ghazan maintained
the friendly relations which he had inherited, and letters
similar in tenor to those already mentioned are preserved
in the archives of various powers. The fact that Egypt,
the representative Moslem power, was his chief enemy,
strengthened the belief that at heart he was a Christian,
or, at any rate, had Christian sympathies. During his
reign Edward I. of England accredited Geoffrey de
Langley, who was accompanied by two esquires, to the
Persian Court. The original roll of their itinerary is
extant,^ and also an account of their expenditure, which
included purchases of silver plate, fur pelisses, and carpets.
They travelled by way of Genoa to Trebizond and Tabriz,
and returned home with a leopard in a cage. No other
account of their mission has been preserved.

His Reforms, — When Ghazan Khan came to the
throne, he found the revenue so corruptly administered
that practically nothing reached the central government,
with the result that he was unable to give pay, much less
presents, to his army. At the same time the peasantry
were so ground down by illegal and semi-illegal exactions
that they were deserting their villages, and whenever an
official appeared they took refuge in underground hiding-
places. To remove this fundamental abuse a survey of
all property was instituted, and on this a new system of
taxation was based, each village paying its taxes in two
instalments and knowing exactly what the amount was.
All assignations on revenue — a cause of endless corrup-
tion — and all other irregular taxes or tolls were forbidden
on pain of death, and in order to prevent the tax-collectors
from deceiving the peasantry each village was obliged to
post a copy of the order, with details of its taxes, outside
the mosque. Another abuse was that all government
officials and other great personages not only used the
government post-horses but preyed on the country,
quartering themselves and their large suites in the towns

^ Archaeological Journal., vol. viii. pp. 49-50.

192 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

and villages, and taking everything they and their servants
desired without payment. It had also become customary
to send an enormous number of couriers to and from the
court, all of whom seized supplies and even transport
when necessary, with the result that the population had
disappeared from the vicinity of the main roads. This
abuse Ghazan remedied, in the first place by instituting
a private postal service of horses, which was not allowed
to be used by any one except the monarch's special
couriers. He subsequently abolished the old service,
and by rigorously suppressing the use of couriers and
by other means put an end to the extortions. He also
purified and organized the administration of justice,
encouraged agriculture, founded military fiefs, set up a
standard of weights and measures, and worked by every
means for the prosperity of the down-trodden peasantry.

His Buildings and Endowments. — His capital, Tabriz,
Ghazan adorned with buildings which surpassed in
splendour the famous tomb of Sultan Sanjar at Merv.
Building on the same lines, he erected a magnificent
mausoleum, together with an equally magnificent mosque,
two colleges, a hospital, a library, and an observatory.
The most celebrated professors and scientific men of the
age were appointed with liberal salaries to staff these
foundations, and lands were assigned to them in per-
petuity, the produce of which provided the salaries and
upkeep. Nor were the students forgotten ; indeed the
entire scheme was thought out with extraordinary
thoroughness, and it is to be regretted that a man of
such administrative genius was shortly afterwards suc-
ceeded by puppet -khans under whom Persia relapsed
into anarchy.

Uljaitu, A.H. 703-716 (1304-1316). — The successor
of the great Il-Khan was his brother Mohamed Khuda-
banda, generally known by his title of Uljaitu.^ Upon
hearing of the death of Ghazan he kept the intelligence

^ Uljaitu signifies "Fortunate." The Sultan was born when his mother was
traversing the desert which lies between Merv and Sarakhs. Her attendants, being
obliged to halt, were afraid that the party would die of thirst, but upon the birth of
the infant a heavy shower fell, and it was in commemoration of this that he received
his title.

Lviii GHAZAN KHAN 193

a secret until he had surprised and killed a possible com-
petitor for the throne in the person of Alafrang, son of
Gaykhatu, together with his supporters. The third son of
Arghun Khan, he had been brought up by his mother as a
Christian and baptized under the name of Nicolas, but
through the influence of his wife he had been converted to
Islam. He loved to listen to religious discussions, and was
once shocked by hearing it stated that Islam allowed
marriage with a mother, a sister, or a daughter. His
adverse impression was strengthened by a violent thunder-
storm during which some members of his court were
killed and which was interpreted as a sign that heaven
was angry at his adoption of Islam. For a while the
Sultan thought of returning to the old Mongol beliefs,
but, visiting the tomb of Ali, he there dreamed a dream
as a result of which he finally embraced the Shia tenets.

Among other events of this reign was an invasion
of Gilan, hitherto independent, which cost the Mongols
thousands of lives ; there was also a raid into Khorasan
by the Chagatay Mongols, which was beaten off. Uljaitu,
like his predecessors, corresponded with the sovereigns of
Western Europe, and it is interesting to note that they
believed him to be an enemy of Islam.^

Ahu Saidy a.h. ^16-']^^ (i3i^-i335)- — ^^^ Said, the
son of Khudabanda, was only a boy of twelve when he
succeeded to the throne, although he had been the
nominal ruler of Khorasan, which to some extent had
become the appanage of the heir-apparent. His reign
was marked by disputes of the great nobles, who during
his minority contended for power. Chief among them
was Amir Chupan, the Regent, who was married to a
sister of the monarch and whose power overshadowed
the throne. The revolt of his son, whom he captured
and brought a prisoner to Sultania (the city founded by
Khudabanda), only strengthened his position, which he
might have retained but for the fact that Abu Said fell
in love with his daughter, Baghdad Khatun^ whom he

1 This appears from a letter of Edward II., dated Northampton, October i6, 1307,
in which the monarch states that the English King would employ all his efforts " to
extirpate the abominable sect of Mchamed."

■^ Khatun signifies *' lady."

VOL. ri o

194 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

had married to a Mongol noble. His refusal to hand
over his daughter weighed on the mind of the enamoured
monarch, who began to hate Chupan so intensely that
in self-defence the Amir was forced to rebel, and paid
the penalty with his life. Nothing more during this
reign merits notice, and Abu Said, dying childless, left
the kingdom a prey to disorder.

The Puppet Il-Khans. — The remaining Il-Khans were
puppets set up by rival generals, and their importance
was so small that they may suitably be relegated to a list
taken from The Mohamedan Dynasties.

Arpa A.H. 736 (1335).

Musa 73^ (I336)'

Rival Khans

D .ex. fMohamed 736-8 (1336-8).

Puppets of the Xugha-Timur 739-52 {mUi)-

Jalayr Amir |j,hLTimur Jg-Ji Ul9-4

Puppets of the
Chupani Amirs

'Sati-Beg (princess) 739-40 (i339)-
Sulayman 740-4 (1339-43)'

Noshirwan 745 (l344)-

The Jalayr Dy nasty ^ a.h. 736-814 (1336-1411). — In
the struggle for power which occurred upon the disinte-
gration of the Empire of the Il-Khans the most important
family was that of Amir Husayn Jalayr, known also as
the Ilkhanian. Under Shaykh Hasan Buzurg, or " the
Great," who had set up three puppets given in the list
above, and had subsequently assumed sovereign functions
himself, Irak was taken possession of and Baghdad once
again became a capital. His son Oways, on his succession
in A.H. 757 (1356), seized Azerbaijan, which had been
annexed by the Golden Horde, and a few years later added
Mosul and Diarbekr to the newly founded kingdom.
Oways was succeeded by Husayn, who fought the
Muzaffar dynasty of Southern Persia and the Kara
Kuyunlu, or " Black Sheep '* Turkoman, to the west.
Upon his death in a.h. 784 (1382), he bequeathed
Azerbaijan and Irak to Sultan Ahmad, on whom fell the
brunt of the invasion of Timur. Unable to resist the

Lviii GHAZAN KHAN 195

World Conqueror he fled to Egypt and spent the rest
of his life in seeking to regain and hold his dominions.
In A.H. 813 (1410) he had recovered Baghdad, but when
invading Azerbaijan he was defeated by the Kara Kuyunlu,
who succeeded this undistinguished dynasty.

The Muzaffarids^ a.h. 713-795 (1313-1393)- — The
founder of the Southern Persian dynasty was a certain
Amir MuzaiFar, who was appointed Governor of Maybud,
a small town to the north-west of Yezd. His son in
A.H. 713 (1313) was appointed Governor of Yezd and
Fars by Abu Said, and so increased his influence by
marrying Kutlugh Turkan, the only daughter of Shah
Jahan of the Kutlugh Khans of Kerman, that in a.h.
741 (1340) he obtained possession of that province. In
A.H. 754 (1353), after a series of campaigns fought with
Abu Ishak, Inju, he annexed Fars, and three years later
Isfahan. Finding the conditions favourable, this successful
warrior led his army to Tabriz, but when he was apparently
at the zenith of his fame his sons conspired against him
and blinded him. His successors quarrelled among
themselves and merit litde notice, except that Shah Shuja
is known to fame as the patron of Hafiz. Sultan Ahmad,
the Imad-u-Din, is well known at Kerman as the founder
of the Pa Minar mosque. In his honour, too, was carved
the beautiful stone pulpit which I discovered at Kala-i-Sang,
the old capital of the province. The family submitted to
Tamerlane, but rebelled, and in a desperate charge Shah
Mansur nearly succeeded in killing the Great Conqueror
himself, as will be seen in the following chapter. On this
account the dynasty was exterminated.^

The Karts of Herat^ a.h. 643-791 (1245-1389). — To
complete the survey of petty dynasties mention must be
made of the Kart race of Ghor, which held Herat under
the Mongols from the middle of the thirteenth century
of our era. As mentioned above, Fakhr-u-Din gained
the favour of Ghazan by handing over Noruz, and the
dynasty, partly owing to the possession of an inaccessible
fort, maintained itself until a few years after the conquest
of Herat by Timur in a.h. 783 (138 1).

1 This dynasty is dealt with at greater length in Ten Thousand Miles, etc., p. 63.

Tamerlane.

CHAPTER LIX

TAMERLANE

And when I cloathed myself In the robe of empire, I shut my eyes to
safety, and to the repose which is found on the bed of ease. And from the
twelfth year of my age I travelled over countries, and combated difficulties,
and formed enterprises and vanquished armies, and I hazarded my person in
the hour of danger j until in the end I vanquished kingdoms and empires, and
established the glory of my name. — From The Institutes of Timur.

Transoxtana in the Middle of the Fourteenth Century. —
The house of Chagatay which ruled Central Asia ^ was the
least distinguished of the dynasties founded by Chengiz
Khan. In the period covered by the preceding chapter
an occasional raid into Khorasan constituted all its history
so far as Persia was concerned, and during much of the
time Transoxiana was in a state of anarchy. In a.h.
746 (1345) Kazan Khan, the Western Chagatay ruler,
provoked a rebellion by his cruelty, the nobles uniting
under a certain Amir Kazghan to dethrone him, a design
in which they were successful the following year. Amir
Kazghan after this revolution ruled through puppet
Khans until his death in a.h. 759 (1357) and was
succeeded by his son Abdulla. Sarai was deserted
through the influence of Sali, the new Vizier, and Samar-
cand again became the capital of an empire. Becoming
enamoured of the wife of the puppet Khan, Abdulla put
him to death and set up Timur Shah Oghlan in his stead.

^ The authorities for this chapter include A History of Persia^ by Sir John Malcolm j
Gcichichte des Osmanischen Reic/ies, by Joseph von Hammer ; A History of the Moghuls of
Central Asia (the Tarikh-i-Rashidi), by Ney Elias and Denison Ross j A History of
Bokhara, by A. Vamb6ry ; the Zafar Nama of Sharaf-u-Din Ali Yezdi, and the Institutes
of Timur (ed. Davy and White).

196

cHAP.Lix TAMERLANE 197

This act caused a revolt, which was headed by an Amir
named Bayan Selduz and by Haji^ Barks, of Kesh (the
modern Shahr-i-Sabz, to the south of Samarcand), and the
united forces of the Amirs defeated AbduUa, who fled
across the Oxus and disappeared from the scene. The
government was now administered by the victors, but the
incapacity of Bayan Selduz, who was a hopeless drunkard,
broke up the empire into a number of petty states, and
Haji Barlas was not able to do more than maintain himself
at Kesh.

The Governor of Mongolia, or Jatah, at this period was
Tughluk Timur Khan, who, on seeing the state of anarchy
into which Transoxiana had fallen, determined to annex
it. He started on an expedition for this purpose in a.h.
761 (1360) and marched on Kesh ; Haji Barlas, deem-
ing the odds too great, attempted no defence and fled
to Khorasan, where he was afterwards killed by brigands.

The Fame of Tamerlane, — Tamerlane has impressed
Europe more than any other Asiatic conqueror. Chengiz
Khan, a century and a half earlier, was not brought into
direct contact with the Near East or with Europe, but con-
quered lands remote from the ken of the West, and it
was not until after his death that his descendants subdued
Russia to the north and Mesopotamia to the south.
Tamerlane, on the other hand, overran Persia and Meso-
potamia, and subsequently entered Russia and attacked
the Kipchaks of the lower Volga valley ; he also plundered
Moscow. He then turned his eyes towards India, the
reputed treasure-house of the world, which he invaded.
Here he passed the limits both of Alexander the Great
and of Chengiz Khan, the former having halted on the
Beas, while the latter barely crossed the Indus. West-
wards, too, he took Damascus and weakened the power
of the Mamelukes, and finally defeated and captured
Sultan Bayazid L of Turkey on the field of Angora.
No Asiatic conqueror in historical times has performed
such feats of arms as these, and consequently none is
entitled to the fame of Tamerlane.

1 Haji signifies a man who has performed the pilgrimage to Mecca : it is a title of
honour in the Moslem world.

198 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

His Birth in a.h. 736 (1335) and his Early Years, —
The historians of Tamerlane trace his descent from a
certain Karachar Khan, a vizier in the service of Chagatay,
who was connected with his master's family. This
genealogy is disputed, but its correctness is of little
importance. We know that he was the son of Amir
Turghay, chief of the Gurkan branch of the Barlas, a
noble Turkish tribe, and nephew of Haji Barlas. From an
early age he showed unusual promise both in the council
chamber and in the field, where he served with distinction
under Amir Kazghan, notably in Khorasan. He was also
remarkable for his skill and endurance in the pursuit of
game, resembling in this respect Alexander the Great.

His Submission to Tughluk Timur Khan. — Tamerlane,
by the death of his father, had recently become the head of
his family at the time of the flight of Haji Barlas, and
this event proved a crisis in the life of the young Amir.
As the Tarikh-i-Rashidi runs :

His father was dead and his uncle had fled ;

The people were exposed to the ravages of a stranger.

Its enemies had placed the tribe in danger :

It was become as an eagle without wings or feathers.

To save the situation, Tamerlane decided to tender
his submission to Tughluk Timur Khan, by whom he
was received with much distinction and appointed Governor
of Transoxiana. In the following year the Khan of Jatah
obtained possession of Samarcand and appointed his son
Khoja Ilias Oghlan to the governorship of Transoxiana
with the young Tamerlane as his councillor, although
a certain Amir Begjit was given the supreme authority.
Intrigues naturally followed, with the result that Tamer-
lane was obliged to flee from Samarcand.

His Early Wanderings. — Being pursued, he turned on
his enemies and defeated them. Then with but a handful
of men he sought out his brother-in-law Amir Husayn,
the grandson of Amir Kazghan, who had recently been
beaten by Tughluk Timur and was wandering in the
desert. Together the two adventurers proceeded to
Khiva, where the Governor attempted to seize them by

TAMKKLAXE.
^Froin F. R. Martin's Miniature Fa in Hup of Persia, etc.)

Lix TAMERLANE 199

treachery, and they were forced to retire to the desert for
protection. There they led a hfe of risk and hardship,
Tamerlane and his wife being on one occasion imprisoned
by some Turkoman and escaping with difficulty.

Tamerlane or " Timur the LameT — It was during this
period that Timur acquired in Sistan his soubriquet of
" the Lame '* ; and details of the story have been pre-
served. In A.H. 764 (1363)5 when wandering in Southern
Afghanistan, he received an appeal for help from Jalal-u-
Din Mahmud, the Keiani ^ Prince of Sistan, whose subjects
had rebelled. Tamerlane and Amir Husayn immedi-
ately accepted the invitation, and with the aid of their
veterans three out of seven forts held by the rebels were
captured. The latter then submitted to their Prince,
pointing out that if Tamerlane were allowed to capture
the other forts, Sistan would lie at his mercy. Persuaded
by these weighty arguments, Jalal-u-Din collected a force
with which he attacked his allies, and although Tamerlane
succeeded in breaking the centre of the Sistan army, he
received two arrow wounds, one in his arm and the other
in his foot, which was thus permanently lamed. From
this he became known as Timur lang^ or " the lame," two
words which in European languages have been merged
in the euphonious form of Tamerlane.^ The word Timur
signifies iron.

The Rallying of his Relations and Adherents, — In Timur's
Institutes'^ there is a delightful account of how relations
and adherents rallied to his standard during this period.
It deserves quotation, if only as revealing the character
of the great adventurer. He writes : " I had not yet
rested from my devotions, when a number of people
appeared afar off ; and they were passing along in a line
with the hill. And I mounted my horse, and I came
behind them, that I might know their condition, and
what men they were. They were, in all, seventy horsemen ;
and I asked of them saying, ' Warriors, who are ye ? ' and

1 Vide Chapter XII.

'-* Timur '3 Memoirs {Malfuzat) and Institutes {Tuzukat) are works the genuineness
of which is not universally accepted. Still there is much internal evidence that they
were written by the Great Tartar himself, and they are of considerable value and of
great interest as showing his ideals and personality.

200 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

they answered unto me, ' We are the servants of Amir
Timur, and we wander in search of him ; and lo ! we
find him not.' And I said unto them, ' I also am one of
the servants of the Amir. How say ye, if I be your
guide, and conduct you unto him ? ' When their eyes
fell upon me, they were overwhelmed with joy ; and they
alighted from their horses, and they came, and they
kneeled and they kissed my stirrup. I also dismounted
and took each of them in my arms. And I put my
turban over the head of Toghluk Khoja ; and my girdle,
which was very rich in jewels, and wrought with gold, I
bound on the loins of Amir Sayf-u-Din ; and I clothed
Tukub Bahadur with my cloak. And they wept, and I
wept also. When the hour of prayer was arrived, we
prayed together."

The Campaigns with Khoja Ilias. — After their opera-
tions in Sistan the two companions in arms proceeded
to Kunduz, and in a.h. 765 (1363) they won a battle
against the forces of Jatah by a demonstration against the
rear of the enemy and by lighting an enormous number
of fires, which struck panic among them. After the fight
Tamerlane regained possession of Kesh, the inhabitants
of the district flocking to his standard in thousands. At
this juncture Tughluk Timur died, and Khoja Ilias, on
his way home to ascend the throne, was attacked by the
two Amirs, who gained a victory after a hard contest
and took Samarcand. But in the following year, a.h. 766
(i365)> Khoja Ilias defeated the two allies and besieged
Samarcand, from which, however, he was forced to with-
draw owing to heavy losses among his horses.

The Struggle between Tamerlane and Amir Husayn, a.h.
767-771 (1365-T369).— After the first success over the
Amirs of Jatah the two victors, probably owing to the
intense respect which still existed for the family of
Chengiz Khan, set up a puppet in the person of Kabil
Shah Oghlan, but retained the power in their own hands.
Their friendship, which had been welded in the furnace
of adversity, could not withstand the strain of success,
and open hostilities broke out, in which Tamerlane was
at first unsuccessful. His fortunes were restored by a

LIX

TAMERLANE 201

most brilliant feat of arms, which deserves to be recorded
as an illustration of the amazing enterprise and initiative
of the famous conqueror. Karshi, a town only a few
miles to the south-west of Kesh, had been captured by
his rival, and he felt bound in honour to recover it.
His forces were too small to assault it openly, and Amir
Husayn was in the neighbourhood with an army too
powerful to be attacked. Tamerlane, giving out that
he had departed to Khorasan, crossed the Oxus. When
he was satisfied that his enemies were deceived and
" had spread abroad the carpet of riot and dissipation,"
he made forced marches, escaladed the walls by night,
slew the guard at the gate and frightened away the rest
of the startled garrison by sounding trumpets. The men
who accomplished this consummate feat of arms were only
two hundred and forty-three in number, and when this
became known the little band was assailed by Amir
Husayn. To the amazement of his enemies Tamerlane
sallied out repeatedly and inflicted such loss in his charges
that the larger army retreated. Not long afterwards Amir
Husayn was forced to capitulate at Balkh, where he was
put to death.

The Conquest of 'Jatah and of Khwarazm^ a.h. 771—782
(1369-13 80). — The successful issue of the contest with
Amir Husayn gave Tamerlane complete control of
Transoxiana, and for a full decade he was busily engaged
in conquering the neighbouring states of Jatah to the
east and of Khwarazm to the west.

The Surrender of Herat^ a.h. 782 (1380). — In a.h.
782 (1380) he began his famous campaigns in Persia,
his first objective being Khorasan. Ghias-u-Din Pir Ali,
the Kart Prince, after being lulled into false security, was
surprised and submitted. His submission was accepted,
but so heavy a contribution was levied on Herat and
other towns that they were reduced to dire poverty.
Kandahar and Kabul also submitted later on, but isolated
strongholds continued to resist in various portions of
what is now termed the kingdom of Afghanistan.

The Siege of Kalat-i-Nadiri and of Turshiz. — The
famous natural fortress now known as Kalat-i-Nadirl,

202 HISTORY OF PERSIA

which has already been mentioned, won imperishable fame
by resisting all attempts at assault after a surprise had
failed.^ Tamerlane invested the Nafta darhand'^ in person,
his Amirs attacking the other entrances. Some Badakshani
hillmen found a way up the cliffs and negotiations for
surrender were opened up, but while they were in progress
the astute defender broke down this track. Fourteen
assaults were delivered, but without result, and the great
Tamerlane had to admit defeat. However, he left a
force to blockade the fortress, and in the end jit was
surrendered owing to an outbreak of plague.

The city of Turshiz, the site of which I have ex-
amined,^ was taken by force of arms. It was believed
to be impregnable owing to its deep ditch and high walls ;
but the water was drawn off by well-diggers, a mine was
run under the walls, and it had to surrender. The
garrison was spared and re-enhsted under Tamerlane to
serve in Turkestan.

The Sistan Campaign, a.h. 785 (1383). — The slow
progress made by Tamerlane at this period, as compared
with the ease with which the Mongols overran Persia,
deserves attention. Herat had indeed submitted, but the
resistance of Kalat-i-Nadiri and of other strongholds must
have strained the resources of the Conqueror. Jatah,
moreover, needed watching, and consequently it was not
until the fourth year after the campaign began that
Tamerlane was able to invade Sistan. Marching through
Herat and Afghan Sabzawar, his cavalry devastated the
whole district ; Zirreh (which is probably the ancient
Zaranj and the modern Nad Ali) was breached and
stormed without resort to siege operations. Tamerlane
now advanced on the city of Sistan, and made a personal
reconnaissance. To quote from the Zafar Nama \ "I
made towards a gate, and when only a short distance away
I ascended a mound which is called Kutluk, and halted
upon the summit. As a precautionary measure I placed
2000 men-at-arms, in complete armour, in an ambush.
When the people of the country saw me come to a stand

1 Fide "A Fifth Journey in Persia," Journal R.G.S. for December 1906.
A darband is a defile which forms the natural entrance.
* Journal R.G.S. for February 191 1.

Lix TAMERLANE 203

upon the summit of the mound, they recognized whom
they had to deal with, and Shah Kutb-u-din, the Prince
of Sistan, despatched to my presence Shah-i-Shahan and
Taj-u-din Sistani, who were the chief of all his leaders."

Tate,^ who has made a plan of Zahidan, as the ruins
are now termed, shows a mound close to the south angle
of the walls, and there is little doubt it was from here
that the Great Conqueror examined the city.

Meanwhile the Sistanis, unaware of the hidden force
and careless of the safety of their deputation, swarmed
out of the city and advanced to the attack. The usual
ruse of a feigned retreat and a surprise by the hidden
troops drove the undisciplined peasantry back to their
walls with heavy loss, but they had fought bravely and
killed many of the enemy, whose horses they stabbed with
their knives. *

Undismayed, the Sistanis next attempted a night attack,
which at first caused some confusion, but the disciplined
troops rallied and inflicted terrible losses on the enemy.
The city was then assaulted by the entire army, and its
ruler, realizing that he could not hope to resist for very
long, resolved to surrender. During the course of the
negotiations Tamerlane set off with a small escort to visit
one of his divisions. Again the Sistanis assailed him, climb-
ing down from their battlements. This act of hostility
provoked Tamerlane to order a fresh assault, and the
city was taken. Its garrison was put to the sword, and
its population was massacred. Its great area is now so
desolate and lifeless that when I visited it the wonderful
lines of Isaiah ^ came to my mind : " An habitation of
dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the
desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island,
and the satyr shall cry to his fellow."

The Campaign in Northern Persia^ a.h. 786 (1384). —
In the year following the conquest of Sistan and the
consolidation of his power in Khorasan, Tamerlane under-
took what may be regarded as the first of his distant
campaigns. Hitherto he had been operating in districts

1 Sistan^ Parts L to III. p. 55. This useful work is by G. P. Tate of the Survey
Department of the Government of India.
^ Chap, xxxiv. 13, 14.

204 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

familiar to him and not very far from his base. Crossing
the Oxus with a powerful and well-equipped army, he
marched into the valley of the Gurgan and camped near
Astrabad. Its ruler, who had submitted but had since
rebelled, resisted for a month, and then, seeing no hope
of success, left his state to be ravaged, and fled. After
the conquest of Mazanderan, Tamerlane advanced on Rei
and Sultania, and having taken these royal cities returned
to Samarcand.

The Campaign in Azerbaijan^ Georgia and Fars^ a.h.
788-790 (1386-1388). — Two years later a second and
even more distant campaign was undertaken, in the course
of which Tamerlane occupied Azerbaijan, crossed the
Aras, overran Georgia, and received the submission of
the Princes of Gilan, of the Khan of the Lesgians, and of
the Prince of Shirwan. His next objective was Van, the
capital of the rising Kara Kuyunlu dynasty, which was
sacked ; its Prince, Kara Yusuf, leaving it to its fate and
remaining in exile until the Conqueror had quitted the
district.

Zayn-ul-Abidin, son of Shah Shuja of the MuzafFar
dynasty, now occupied the throne of Fars. He had not
followed out his father's policy of submission to Tamer-
lane, but had imprisoned his envoy. Consequently the
Great Conqueror ordered a march on Isfahan, which
formed part of the MuzafFarid dominions. This city
surrendered, and a heavy contribution had been almost
collected when the chance playing of a drum brought
together a mob which attacked and slew the 3000 Tartars
quartered in the city. Tamerlane was merciless in
avenging this outbreak, and 70,000 heads built into
pyramids taught a terrible lesson.

Tamerlane and Hafiz. — Shiraz hastened to open its
gates when the invaders approached. Tamerlane sent for
Hafiz, and the celebrated interview is described by
Dolatshah as follows :

" I have subdued with this sword the greater part of
the earth ; I have depopulated a vast number of cities
and provinces in order to increase the glory and wealth
of Samarcand and Bokhara, the ordinary places of my

LIX

TAMERLANE 205

residence and the seat of my empire ; yet thou, an
insignificant individual, hast pretended to give away both
Samarcand and Bokhara as the price of a little black mole
setting off the features of a pretty face ; for thou hast
said in one of thy verses :

If that fair maiden of Shiraz would accept my love,
I would give for the dark mole which adorns her cheek

Samarcand and Bokhara."

Hafiz bowed to the ground, and replied : " Alas ! O
Prince, it is this prodigality which is the cause of the
misery in which you see me/* The repartee delighted
Tamerlane so much that he treated the poet with kindness
and generosity.

The Campaigns with Toktamish^ a.h. 790-793 (1388-
1391). — Toktamish, the head of the Eastern ^or White
Horde, was a great figure on the stage of Russia, Moscow
being sacked by him in a.d. 1382. The sovereignty
of the Western or Golden Horde also passed into his
family, and thereby the two elder branches of the family
of Juji^ became united. Tamerlane had helped him
when a refugee, but with marked folly and ingratitude
he took advantage of his absence in Pars to invade
Transoxiana, where he defeated the force which met him,
and ravaged the country. The Great Conqueror returned
to Central Asia, and after a long and exhausting march
across the uninhabited steppe, at last, aided by the
treachery of the standard-bearer of Toktamish, defeated
the representative of the house of Juji at the Battle of
Terek, inflicting on him heavy losses.

The Campaign in Fars and Irak^ a.h. 794-795 (1392-
1393). — In A.H. 794 (1392), hearing that the state of
affairs in Persia was unsatisfactory, or more probably
wishing to extend his conquests farther west, Tamerlane
decided on another Persian campaign. He marched as
before by way of Astrabad and Amul, reducing various
strongholds which had held out against him and extirpat-
ing a nest of Ismailis, which had escaped from the massacre
by Hulagu.

^ Mohamedah Dynasties, p. 228.

2o6 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

At the beginning of the following year he advanced
on Khorramabad and Shuster, attacking and capturing the
Kala Sufid, celebrated for its connexion with Rustam, who
obtained possession of it by a ruse.^ He then marched
on Shiraz, where to his astonishment his army, 30,000
strong, was charged by Shah Mansur, Prince of the
Muzaffar dynasty, at the head of a body of 4000 armour-
clad horsemen. Sharaf-u-Din, who was present at this
engagement, gives the following spirited account : " Shah
Mansur advanced at their head like a furious lion, and in
opposition to his reason, which should have preserved in
his mind a suitable idea of the person he had to do with.
On a Friday, at the hour of prayer, he attacked our main
body, composed of 30,000 Turks, the most dexterous
men of their time, in a place named Patila : he however
overthrew their squadrons, broke their ranks, made his
way into the midst of them, and gained posts of the
utmost consequence behind our army. Then he returned,
furious as a dragon, to the fight, seeming resolved to
lose his life. Timur stopped short with some of his
favourites to consider the extreme vigour, or rather rash-
ness, of this prince, who dared to attack him in person.
Timur, seeing him come directly against him, would have
armed himself with his lance to oppose him, but he could
not find it, because Poulad Choura, the keeper of it, had
been so vigorously attacked that he had fled and carried
away the lance. Timur, who had only fourteen or fifteen
persons with him, did not stir out of his place till Shah
Mansur came up to him. This rash person struck the
Emperor's helmet twice with his scimitar ; but the blows
did no harm, for they glanced along his arms : he kept
firm as a rock, and did not change his posture.'*

The Prince was not properly supported in his gallant
charge. The two wings of his small force fled, and,
surrounded by enemies, he was slain by Shah Rukh, the
celebrated son of Tamerlane, who cast his head at his sire's
feet, exclaiming, " May the heads of all thy enemies be
laid at thy feet as the head of the proud Mansur ! " As
recorded in the last chapter, this exploit of arms sealed the

^ Vide Malcolm, op. c'lt. p. 27.

Lix TAMERLANE 207

doom of the Muzafiar dynasty, all the members of which
were put to death. Baghdad was the next objective of
the Great Conqueror, and, unable to resist, the great city
submitted after its Prince had fled.

The Siege of Tukrit^ a.h. 796 (1393). — From the erst-
while capital of the Caliph, Tamerlane marched north
and besieged Takrit, a fort held by a noted robber
chief named Hasan, who, confident in its strength, pre-
pared to resist to the uttermost. The siege was the most
celebrated of the day. The lofty walls, which rested on
the ll\dng rock or merely connected portions of the cliiF,
appeared to be impregnable, but the army of Tamerlane
was not to be denied. Seventy-two thousand men were
employed in mining the solid rock, and with such success
that at a given signal the mines, filled with combustibles,
were simultaneously set on fire, the props were burned
and many of the strongest towers fell. Hasan retreated,
fighting bravely, to an inner citadel, which was attacked
in the simie manner, and the siege ended in the capture
of the garrison, the members of which were distributed
among the various regiments to be tortured to death.
With pardonable pride Tamerlane ordered that a portion
of the fortress should be left to prove his prowess to
future aoes.

The Second Campaign in Russia, a.h. 797 (1394). —
Tamerlane's next exploit was to march across Kipchak
to the heart of Russia. Moscow was plundered, and
Toktamish, who had dared to in\'ade Shirwan, again saw
his country devastated. In the following year the Great
Conqueror sacked Astrakhan and strengthened his hold
on the Caucasus, and he concluded this arduous campaign
by returning to Samarcand across Northern Persia.

77\'' Invasion of India, a.h. 800-801 (1398-1399). —
TiuTierlane*s design of invading India was at first opposed
by some of his generals, who were appalled at the mag-
nitude of the enterprise. An omen was sought in the
Konui, and the verse '' O Prophet fight with the infidels
;md the unbelie\'ers " came forth and silenced all objec-
tions. The army, 92,000 strong, was divided into three
corps. The first \^^s despatched from Kabul against

2oS HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Mulain ; a second corps \ras ordered to iiunide the
Panjab, keeping to the foothills of the Himalayas, while
the leader himself marched with tiie main body. Upon
reaching the \ncinity of Delhi Tamerlane, anxious to fight
a decisive batde rather thaii risk the difficulties ot a
sle^e, entrenched himself and assumed the defensive.
By these Uctics he entirely deceived Sultan Mahmud,
whose armv he defeated, and by this victory secured the
riches of Delhi, which he sacked.

T/:c C.i^npji^K .;gciinst .'';.-• Mjmc//ikcS. a.h. S03 (1401).
— After his return from India Tamerlane, who was now
approaching his seventh decade, might well have rested
on his laurels and deputed to his sons the care of his
widespreading empire ; but conquerors, like actors, seldom
retire from the stage. Hearing that Ahmad, tlie Jala}T
Prince, had returned to Baghdad, the veteran chief made
forced marches into Azerbaijan, distant more than one
thousand miles from Samarcand. Ahmad, to strengthen
his position, put to death various inhabitants of Baghdad
suspected of favouring the enemy, but a rising drove him
out of his capital and he ^vas obliged to take refi)ge with
Kara Yusuf.

Tamerliuie advanced into Asia Minor, and besieged
and took Sivas. After this success he swung south-
wards into Svria, to a\'ens:e the murder of his eiwov to
Egypt ; there Aleppo and Damascus became his prey.
Returning eastwards, he took Baghdad by assault and
marched to Tabriz, where he rested his armv,

T/ie Den\H of Bdwizid, a.h. 804 (1402). — Tamerlane s
last campaign was perhaps his greatest. In Central Asia,
in Persia, and in India he had encountered no formidable
state ruled by a warlike monarch, and with his large
numbers, perfect discipline, and vast experience, victory
must have become a matter of course.

The Osmanlis whom he was now to meet were
descended from a Turkish tribe which had fled from the
neighbourhood of Merv before the hordes of Chengiz
Khan, and just a century before had founded a mighty
dynasty. The early victories of this warlike people lie
outside the scope of this work. It suffices to state that

iix TAMERLANE 209

in the stricken field of Kosovo, in a.d. 1389, they worsted
the Servians and their Christian allies mainly owing to
the bravery of Bayazid, and that seven years later at
Nicopolis the chivalry of Europe broke and fled before
the armed might of the Sultan, whose rapidity of action
had earned for him the title of the " Thunderbolt."

When Tamerlane stormed Sivas, a son of the Sultan
was put to death, and Bayazid, who was besieging Con-
stantinople, hastened over to Asia Minor to meet the
invader. But Tamerlane had meanwhile marched into
Syria, and it was not until a year later that the two
great conquerors confronted one another on the field of
battle.

Bayazid appears to have become indolent after his great
successes, and, moreover, he was notoriously avaricious,
the most fatal of all failings in the East. Consequently
he was no match for his great opponent, who was ever fit
and ready for war. The decisive battle was fought at
Angora, which had witnessed the final defeat of Mith-
ridates by Pompey and at a later date the first victory of
the Osmanlis. Bayazid brought his men on to the field
tired and suffering from thirst, and some of his con-
tingents deserted, relying on the reputation for generosity
enjoyed by the invaders, whose agents had been active.
The Janissaries and the Christian contingents fought
splendidly, but the greater numbers of Tamerlane ulti-
mately prevailed, and, as old KnoUes writes, " He with
much ado obtained the victory." Bayazid was taken
prisoner and, after an attempt at escape, was chained at
night ; this circumstance, and the fact that the royal
prisoner travelled in a barred litter, originated the legend
of his confinement in an iron cage.^ Tamerlane reaped the
fruits of victory by occupying Asia Minor, including the
ports of Brusa, Nicaea, and Smyrna. From the last-named
city he expelled the knights of St. John. It is interesting
to learn that Tamerlane wrote a letter to Henry IV. of
England in which he offered free commercial intercourse
to his subjects. Henry's reply, the draft of which is

^ Bayazid appears in Marlowe'8 Tamburlaine the Greaty and is made to beat out his
bniins against the bnrs of* the cage.

VOL. II P

2IO HIS'I'ORY OK I'KRSIA <:„^P.

preserved, congr;itul:U"es 'ranierlime on his great victory
over the Turks. Both letters were conveyed by John
(jreenhiw,' an J'Jiglish Minorite or iM'iar Preacher who
was resident a( Tabriz and is termed Archbishop John.

17n' C a. s I'll 'hill Kmhdssy to the Court of Samarcand
— Henry III. of Castile, son-in-law of " time-honour'd
Lancaster," was notetl for the embassies which he de-
spatched to remote parts of the world, chiefly, it is to
be supposed, with a view to ibrming alliances which should
act as a check on the Osmaidis and neighbouring Moslems,
but also with the purpose of extending the fame of Spain
and of gaining knowledge of other countries.

We learn that two of his envoys were present at the
battle of Angora, and that Tamerlane dismissed them
after his victory with an ambassador of his own, who
carried rich presents of jewels and fair women to the
King of Castile. In continuance of this diplomatic inter-
course Ruy (j'onzale/ di Clavijo''* was despatched to the
Court of Tafiierlane on a second embassy in 1403. Thanks
to the careful tliary of this trusty old knight, we possess
a vivid and most interesting contem[)orary account of the
Great Conqueror.

Starting from Cadi/, accompanied by the ambassador
whom Tamerlane had sent to the Court of Castile, the
travellers experienced danger from both storms and
currents, and upon reaching Rhodes were unable to
obtain any accurate information as to the whereabouts
of Tamerlane. They decided to make for Karabagh in
Azerbaijan, and in pursuance of this design landed at
Trebizond and proceeded by the well-known route to
the frontier town of Khoi. There they met ambassadors
from the Sultan of T^gypt bearing gifts to Tamerlane,
among them being *'a beast called Jornufa!;^ . . . which
was a wonderful sight " ; and the two embassies travelled
eastwards together.

Clavijo describes the beautiful mosques of Tabriz

' I'hlv Original Lritin illustrati'ue of Rnglii/i Hiuory (tliir»l series, vol. i. pp. 54'S8))
by Sir Henry Ellig. I have lo thank Mr. A. G. Ellis for this refcrt-ncr.

'^ yiiU: Embauy lo the Court of 'J'imour, translaJcd by Sir Clcnjcnts Morkham
(Haltluyl Socifly).

" CiiiafFr.

^^ _.

Cii

r-'

i— ti:

o
u

ux TAMERLANE 211

"ornamented very skilfully with mosaic, and blue and
gold work/' and gives the population at 200,000 houses,
or a million persons, with the remark that it was formerly
more populous. Sultania, too, is described as an im-
portant centre, and some account is given of Gilan from
hearsay. Continuing along the historical trunk route so
often referred to, they mention the city of Teheran — for
the first time, so far as I know — and a diversion was
made to Lar, now the favourite summer camp of the
English colony. Rejoining the Meshed road in the
vicinity of Damghan, the ambassadors, who were ill from
the constant riding and heat, reached Nishapur, where a
member of the embassy died. At Meshed the Castilians
were permitted to visit the Shrine of the Imam Riza, and
a reference is made to the " large tomb which is covered
with silver gilt." «

The onward route lay by Merv, and the party nearly
died of thirst in the desert before the Murghab was
reached. The Oxus is referred to as " the Viadme which
is another of the rivers which flow from Paradise. It is
a league in width and flows through a very flat country,
with great and wonderful force, and it is very muddy."

Crossing by a bridge of timber near Termiz, the
travellers passed the famous " Gates of Iran," the Eastern
Darband or " Shut Gate," and Clavijo dwells on the
power of the monarch who was lord of both the celebrated
passes bearing this name ; the other, to the west of the
Caspian Sea, better known as Derbent, has been already
referred to more than once. Kesh, the home of Tamer-
lane, is described, and its polished glazed tiles, in gold
and blue patterns, made a great impression on the
Castilians.

Finally Samarcand was reached, and after waiting for
eight days, according to etiquette, the ambassadors were
received by Tamerlane. The description of the Great
Conqueror and of the audience is of historical value and
had better be given in the words of Clavijo :

"Timur Beg was seated in a portal, in front of the
entrance of a beautiful palace ; and he was sitting on the
ground. Before him there was a fountain, which threw

212 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

up the water very high, and in it there were some red
apples. The lord was seated cross-legged, on silken
embroidered carpets, amongst round pillows. He was
dressed in a robe of silk, with a high white hat on his
head, on the top of which there was a spinel ruby, with
pearls and precious stones round it. As soon as the
ambassadors saw the lord, they made a reverential bow,
placing the knee on the ground, and crossing the arms
on the breast ; then they went forward and made another
and then a third, remaining with their knees on the
ground. The lord ordered them to rise and come
forward ; and the knights, who had held them until then,
let them go. Three Mirzas, or Secretaries, who stood
before the lord, came and took the ambassadors by the
arms, and led them forward until they stood together
before the lord. This was done that the lord might
see them better ; for his eyesight was bad, being so old
that the eyelids had fallen down entirely. He had not
given them his hand to kiss, for it was not the custom
of any great lord to kiss his hand ; but he asked after
the king, saying, ' How is my son the king ? is he in good
health ? ' When the ambassadors had answered, Timur
Beg turned to the knights who were seated around him,
amongst whom were one of the sons of Toktamish, the
former emperor of Tartary, several chiefs of the blood
of the late emperor of Samarcand, and others of the
family of the lord himself, and said : ' Behold, here are
the ambassadors sent by my son, the king of Spain, who
is the greatest king of the Franks, and lives at the end
of the world. These Franks are truly a great people,
and I will give my benediction to the king of Spain, my
son. It would have sufficed if he had sent you to me
with the letter, and without the presents, so well satisfied
am I to hear of his health and prosperous state.'"

Clavijo describes the beautiful gardens with their tiled
palaces where banquets were given. The ambassador,
who was invited, marvelled at the gorgeous tents, one
of which "was so large and high that from a distance
it looked like a castle ; and it was a very wonderful thing
to see, and possessed more beauty than it is possible to

AT THE DOOR OF TAMERLANE'S TOMB.
(From a picture by \'erestchagin.)

Lix TAMERLANE 213

describe.'' He also refers to the feast at which the
marriage of one of the princes of the blood was celebrated
and at which the drinking went on all night. It is in-
teresting to notice that Sharaf-u-Din mentions the presence
of the ambassadors ; " for," he writes, " even the smallest
of fish have their place in the sea." Truly a delightful
touch !

The Castilian gives instances of Tamerlane's justice,
observing that " when a great man is put to death, he is
hanged, but the meaner sort are beheaded." He also
visited Pir Mohamed, son of Jahangir, who was named
his grandfather's successor. He describes him as being
very richly dressed in " blue satin, embroidered with
golden wheels, some on the back, and others on the
breast and sleeves." He was watching a wrestling match
and does not appear to have condescended tp address
the envoys.

Finally Samarcand, the beloved city of Tamerlane,
"a little larger than the city of Seville," is described as
surrounded by many gardens and vineyards, a description
which still holds true. Its inhabitants were mainly captives
brought from every part of the empire and " they are
said to have amounted to one hundred and fifty thousand
persons, of many nations, Turks, Arabs and Moors,
Christian Armenians, Greek Catholics and Jacobites and
those who baptize with fire on the face, who are Christians
with peculiar opinions." ^

Here we must leave the Castilian Knight, with deep
gratitude for his valuable account of the dread Tamer-
lane, whose kindness and liberality to this embassy,
which was overwhelmed with gifts and supplies, contrasts
very favourably with the starvation which Carpini en-
dured when fulfilling a similar task at the Court of the
grandson of Chengiz Khan.

The Death of Tamerlane^ a.h. 807 (1405). — When
Tamerlane returned in triumph to Samarcand after the
defeat of Bayazid, he was, as the account shows, a very
old man. But his lust of conquest did not diminish, and
in A.H. 807 (1404) he convened a Diet at which he

1 Perhaps Hindus with their caste marks are here referred to.

214 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

proposed the suWugation of China, on the double ground
that the race of Chengiz had been expelled from that
empire and also that the enterprise would be a holy war.
The proposal was accepted with acclamation, two hundred
thousand picked men were equipped, and the great army-
began its march. The Jaxartes was crossed at Otrar, the
city which first saw the hordes of Chengiz Khan, and there
the sudden illness and death of Tamerlane put an end to
the enterprise.

His Character and Achievements. — Tamerlane, the
" Lord of the Conjunctions," ^ was the greatest Asiatic
conqueror known in history. The son of a petty
chieftain, he was not only the bravest of the brave, but
also profoundly sagacious, generous, experienced, and
persevering ; and the combination of these qualities made
him an unsurpassed leader of men and a very god of war
adored by all ranks. Malcolm brands him for a massacre
of his prisoners at Delhi, but, awful though this was, it
was dictated by imperative military exigencies. Did not
Napoleon act in a similar manner in the last year of the
eighteenth century .? In the Institutes it is laid down
that every soldier surrendering should be treated with
honour and regard, a rule which, in striking contrast with
the customs prevailing at the period, is remarkable for its
humane spirit.

The object of Tamerlane was glory, and, as in the
case of all conquerors ancient or modern, his career was
attended by terrible bloodshed. He sometimes ordered
massacres by way of retribution or from policy, but there
were few that had their origin in pure savagery. Again,
Tamerlane was a devout Moslem, who, though he took
advantage of the tenets of Islam for his own aggrandise-
ment, was nevertheless a patron of learned men, a founder
of mosques and colleges, a writer of some merit, and fond
of the game of chess. He was also careful to allow no
favourites, but decided everything of importance himself,^

^ In the East it is believed that the great conjunctions of the planets portend the
advent of super-men.

^ The first of his twelve maxims runs : " It is necessary that his vi'ords and his
actions be his own. That is to say, that his soldiers and his subjects may know that
what the king sayeth and doeth, he sayeth and doeth for himself j and that no other
person hath influence therein,"

THE TOMB OF TAMERLANE.

Tn the foreground is the white cenotaph of Tamerlane's spiritual guide ; the jade
cenotaph of Tamerlane appears to the left. )

(From a painting by \'erestchagin. )

i^ix TAMERLANE 215

and in an absolute monarch this constitutes a virtue of
no mean order.

His achievements seemed almost to border on the
superhuman. He carried his arms in every direction
throughout a long life, in no campaign was he worsted,
and when he died, as Gibbon says, " From the Irtish
and Volga to the Persian Gulf and from the Ganges to
Damascus and the Archipelago, Asia was in the hands
of Timur."

Tamerlane lies in a domed mausoleum at Samarcand.
The cenotaph consists of a block of dark jade, believed
to be the largest in the world, the actual tomb being
situated in a vault below. I count it a special privilege
to have visited the tomb of this great maker of history,
where he lies with his relatives and his spiritual leader
and is still known as ^^ the Amir."

Shah Rukh.

CHAPTER LX

THE TIMURID MONARCHS OF PERSIA

Baber was adorned with various virtues, and clad with numberless good
qualities, above all of which bravery and humanity had the ascendant. In the
composition of Turki poetry he was second only to Amir Ali Shir. . . . He
excelled in music and other arts. In fact, no one in his family before him ever
possessed such talents as his. Nor did any of his race ever perform such
wonderful exploits, or experience such strange adventures, as did he. — Tarikh-
i-Rashidi (translated by Ney Elias and Denison Ross).

Khalil Sultan^ a.h. 807-812 (1404-1409). — Tamer-
lane made Pir Mohamed, son of his eldest son Jahangir,
his sole heir. According to Clavijo he was then about
twenty- two years old, and when news of the death of
the Great Conqueror reached Samarcand he was absent at
Kandahar. Advantage was taken of this by his cousin
Khalil Sultan, son of Miran Shah, who was passed over for
the succession. Being supported by the great nobles and
the army, Khalil Sultan took possession of the capital
and was proclaimed Sultan. Meanwhile Shah Rukh,^
the fourth son of Tamerlane, who, as Governor of Herat,
had sent a courteous invitation to Clavijo, decided to
bid for the Empire, but hearing that his rivals had
come to terms he retired to Herat and occupied him-
self with consolidating his position in Khorasan and
Mazanderan.

Khalil Sultan, who retained possession of Samarcand,
squandered the vast treasures amassed by his mighty grand-
sire on his mistress, known as Shad-ul-Mulk^ or " Joy of

The story runs that Tamerlane was playing chess when he received news of the
birth of a son, and gave orders that he should be termed Shah Rukh, or " King and
Castle," in allusion to this ancient game.

216

CH.LX THE TIMURID MONARCHS 217

the State," and the scandal became so great that shortly
after his accession two important nobles broke out into
rebellion. Although the danger was staved off for the time,
in A.H. 812 (1409) Khalil Sultan was seized by treachery
and ceased to reign. Shah Rukh, having again taken up
arms, now obtained possession of Transoxiana, and finally
returned to Herat, which he made the capital, leaving his
son Ulugh Beg to govern at Samarcand.

Shah Rukh^ a.h. 807—850 (1404- 1447). — Sultan Shah
Rukh looms very large on the stage of Khorasan, in
which province he had borne rule for some time before
his father's death. He reigned as the heir of Tamerlane
for nearly half a century in Persia and Central Asia.
Throughout this period he set himself to repair the
ravages and devastation caused by the recent conquests,
Herat and Merv in particular benefiting by his beneficent
activity. His wife, Gauhar Shad Aga, built the magni-
ficent mosque and other buildings at Meshed which will
be referred to in the next chapter.

The court of Shah Rukh was famous for its splendour,
and like Ulugh Beg at Samarcand he attracted men of
learning and science. Embassies, too, were a marked
feature of this great monarch's reign. In a.d. 141 9 he
despatched ambassadors to the Emperor of China with
letters written by himself, which are still extant^ and in
A.H. 845 (1442) he sent an embassy to the Samuri in the
Deccan, headed by a certain Abdur Razzak,- whose valuable
and delightful narrative has been rescued from oblivion
by the Hakluyt Society.

Shah Rukh, although devoted to the arts of peace,
was by no means weak or unwarlike. He defeated Kara
Yusuf of the Kara Kuyunlu dynasty in three great battles,
and after the death of that Prince reduced his son Iskandar
to the position of tributary ruler of Azerbaijan. We also
read that in a.h. 824 (143 1) he marched through the
province of Kerman, where he was met by Sultan Oways,
son of Amir Adugui of the Barlas tribe, who had ceased
to pay tribute. At first Shah Rukh determined to flay
the rebel alive, but ultimatelyjpardoned him.

^ Astatic Miscellanies^ vol. i. Calcutta, 1785.

21 8 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

A truly great ruler. Shah Rukh was first and fore-
most monarch of Iran, and we know both from history
and from coins that his sway extended not only to
Astrabad and Isfahan, but to more distant Shuster to
the west, while his boundaries to the east stretched very
wide.

Ulugh Beg, the Astronomer-King. — Ulugh Beg before
he succeeded his father had governed at Samarcand for
thirty-eight years, which were a golden age for the often
devastated province. The encouragement he gave to
science, to which he was devoted, has preserved his name
for all time as the author of the famous astronomical
tables, held to be the most accurate and complete which
have been bequeathed by the East to the West. They
were published in Latin by John Greaves, Savilian
Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, about 1650 and
reprinted a century later. To Ulugh Beg, moreover,
Persia owes the calendar which is in use to-day. The
era is termed Sichkan 11^ or " The era of the Mouse," and
in it there are cycles of twelve years, each of which is
called after an animal, the names of the months being the
signs of the Zodiac. For instance, on 21st March 191 3
the year of the " Bull " began, and the first month is
known as Hamal^ or "the Ram," the second as "the
Bull," and so on.

Ulugh Beg as a monarch was most unfortunate, for
after his succession his nephew, the Ala-u-Dola, seized
Herat and the person of his son Abdul Latif. No sooner
was this pretender defeated than Turkoman plundered
Herat, and almost simultaneously Samarcand was sacked
by the Uzbegs. To complete the tragedy, the rescued
Abdul Latif revolted, took his father prisoner, and
murdered him in a.h. 853 (1449).

Ahu Said^ a.h. 855-872 (1452-1467). — The parricide
did not enjoy his ill-gotten throne for long ; for Abu
Said, a descendant of Tamerlane, seized Samarcand, and
although Abdul Latif defeated him in a battle he was
himself removed from the scene very shortly afterwards
by assassination. A Prince named Babar ruled for a short
while, and after him Abu Said fought for the vacant

A SORTIE FROM SA MARC AND.
(From the MS. (Or. 3714) of Babar, Emperor of India, in the British Museum.)

Lx THE TIMURID MONARCHS 219

throne with a cousin, Abdulla Mirza^ whom with the aid
of the Uzbegs he succeeded in killing. He then engaged
in a long struggle for power, and by a.h. 870 (1465)
his authority was established in Transoxiana, Northern
Persia, and Afghanistan. Two years later he invaded
Azerbaijan with a powerful army, but Uzun Hasan, the
" White Sheep '* chief, cut off his supplies by raiding
tactics and utterly defeated him. He was handed over
to Yadgar Mirza^ son of Shah Rukh and Gauhar Shad,
and to avenge the death of the latter at his hands was
beheaded.

The Last Princes of the Timurid Dynasty, — Sultan
Ahmad, Abu Said's eldest son and successor, had to face
frequent revolts, the southern provinces throwing off
their allegiance, while his brother Omar Shaykh, father
of Baber, defied him successfully in Ferghana. Despite
this, the close of his long reign of twenty-seven years
was looked back to with regret after his death, more
especially in Bokhara, where he had erected many splendid
buildings.

Sultan Husayn, the patron of Jami, of Mirkhond, and
of Behzad the painter, was the last Prince of the Timurid
dynasty. He summoned Baber to aid him in a campaign
against Shaybani Khan, the Uzbeg chief who had recently
appeared on the scene. To this fact we owe a vivid
account of the monarch and his court. Sultan Husayn
is described in the immortal Memoirs of Baber as a lively,
pleasant man, whose temper was rather hasty and whose
language was in accordance with his temper. He often
engaged sword in hand in fight, and no member of the
race of Timur ever equalled him in the use of the
scimitar. He had a turn for poetry, and many of his
verses are far from bad. Although not without dignity,
he was inordinately fond of keeping fighting rams and of
amusing himself with flying pigeons and cock-fighting.
Baber goes on to say that the age of Sultan Husayn was
certainly a wonderful age, and abounded with eminent men.
Some of these will be referred to in the next chapter.

^ Miraa, or " son of an Amir," signifies " Prince " when it follows the name. When
it precedes it, the meaning is almost equivalent to our "esquire," although it is specially
applied to secretaries or clerks.

220 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

The ''' Black Sheep'' Dynasty^ a.h. 780-874 (1378-
1469). — Reference has already been made to the Turko-
man tribe bearing a black sheep on its standards, which
rose to power towards the end of the fourteenth century
in the country to the south of Lake Van. Strengthened
by an alliance with the Jalayr family, the Kara Kuyunlu,^
as they are termed, established themselves in Armenia and
Azerbaijan and finally succeeded to the kingdom of the
Jalayr. Kara Yusuf, the second chief of the tribe, was
more than once driven into exile by Tamerlane, and was
one of the causes of the campaign against Bayazid, who
granted him protection. He ultimately recovered his
possessions in a.h. 808 (1405), and three years later
added to them those of the Jalayr dynasty, defeating
Ahmad the Il-Khanid and putting him to death.

Kara Yusuf, whose sister was Gauhar Shad, the wife
of Shah Rukh, was succeeded by Iskandar. A later
member of the dynasty, Jahan Shah, was a successful
soldier, who conquered Georgia to the north and Fars
and Kerman to the south. He was preparing to invade
Khorasan when a rebellion of his two sons, who ruled in
Tabriz and Baghdad respectively, forced him to forgo
his designs, and shortly afterwards he was killed in a
battle with the "White Sheep." The "Blue Mosque"
of Tabriz was founded by this monarch.

The '-'- White Sheep'' Dynasty^ a.h. 780-908 (1378-
1502). — The Ak-Kuyunlu, or "White Sheep" dynasty,
known also from a remote ancestor as Bayenderi, was
founded in the same year as that of their rivals the
" Black Sheep," by a grant from Tamerlane of lands
in Armenia and Mesopotamia, in reward for services
rendered to him. Their capital was Diarbekr, and their
power was at first inferior to that of the rival tribe, with
which a deadly feud existed. This originated in the
action of Iskandar, who, when fleeing from Shah Rukh,
had by chance seized Kara Osman, the grandfather of
Uzun Hasan. He kept the chief in prison at Erzerum,
where he died, and some time afterwards he exhumed the
corpse, struck oil* the head, and despatched it in triumph

^ Lu in Turlcl signifies " possessor of."

'SI

Lx THE TIMURID MONARCHS 221

to the Sultan of Egypt. Uzun Hasan, after the over-
throw of Shah Jahan, defeated his son Hasan Ali, whom
he captured and put to death together with every member
of his family, in revenge for this barbarous insult. As
mentioned above, Abu Said invaded Azerbaijan and was
taken prisoner by Uzun Hasan, who, thanks to this
dazzling success, became the virtual ruler of Persia.
The death of this commanding personality occurred in
1478. He was succeeded by his son Yakub, who was
poisoned after a reign of seven years. The empire was
then broken up by domestic struggles for power, and way
was made for the coming native dynasty of the Safavis.

The Alliance of Uzun Hasan with Venice. — A fascinat-
ing study is the part played by the republic of Venice in
Asia not only in trade exploration but also in diplomacy.^

In Chapter LVII. we have seen that the, efforts of
Europe to induce the Il-Khans to attack Egypt and to
rescue the Holy Land from the power of the Mamelukes
resulted in little more than an interesting exchange of
embassies and was entirely barren of actual results.
Some two centuries passed after the interchange of these
embassies, and during that period not only had the
Osmanli Turks become the great Moslem power, but by
the capture of Constantinople in a.d. 1453, Christendom
was threatened more seriously than at any previous period.
The event, although it affected Europe deeply, excited no
real enthusiasm ; for, as Aeneas Sylvius (who is quoted
by Gibbon) wrote, " Christendom is a body without a
head ; a republic without laws or magistrates. The pope
and the emperor may shine as lofty titles, as splendid
images. . . . Every state has a separate prince, and every
prince a separate interest."

At this juncture, or a little later, Venice stepped into
the breach and attempted, though with little success, to
unite the powers of Christendom. Not content with this,
she sought an ally in Asia, and decided to send an
embassy to Uzun Hasan, who was married to a daughter
of Calo Johannes, one of the last Emperors of Trebizond.
Another daughter of the same emperor had married

1 Vide Travels of Venetians in Persia, edited by the Hakluyt Society.

222 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Nicolo Crespo, the Duke of the Archipelago, among
whose sons-in-law was Caterino Zeno, a merchant-prince
of Venice ; he was selected to visit the Court of the
"White Sheep" and to persuade its monarch to attack
Mohamed II. , the conqueror of Constantinople.

, Caterino Zeno was most kindly received at the Court
of Uzun Hasan, where his relationship with the Queen
made everything smooth, and the monarch was persuaded
without great difficulty to attack the Ottoman Empire in
conjunction with the fleets of Venice, which were operating
on the coast of Armenia. In a.d. 1472 hostilities were
opened and a horde of light horsemen ravaged Asia
Minor, but a flying column under Mustafa, a son of the
Sultan, defeated a Persian army. In the following year
a powerful army of the Osmanlis invaded Persia, but
being repulsed in a desperate attempt to cross the
Euphrates retired, and Uzun Hasan, who had pursued,
was in turn defeated and forced to retreat with heavy
loss. After this, Caterino Zeno was sent as an ambassador
from Uzun Hasan to rouse the princes of Christendom,
and Josafa Barbaro took his place, but, not receiving
support from Europe, Uzun Hasan wisely made no second
attack on the formidable Ottoman power.

The Rise of the Shaybanid Dynasty. — Juji, son of
Chengiz Khan, has been referred to at the beginning of
Chapter LVI. His fifth son, Shayban by name, who
accompanied Batu into Hungary in a.d. 1240, was granted
an appanage between the Ural Mountains and the rivers
Ilek and Irghiz, where his descendants multiplied. Coming
down to the fifteenth century of the Christian era, we
find among his descendants a certain Abul Khayr, who
overran Khwarazm andTurkestan. His son was Mohamed
Shaybani, known also as Shahi Beg Khan, almost the last
great warrior of his race, who, after serving Sultan Ahmad,
finally overthrew the last princes of the line of Tamerlane
by the capture of Herat from the two sons of Sultan
Husayn in a.h. 913 (1507). He founded the Uzbeg
kingdom which has lasted down to the present day, the
Amir of Bokhara and the Khan of Khiva both being
lineal descendants of Shayban.

RABER OX HIS THROXK.
(PYom a MS. in the British Miiseuni.)

Lx THE TIMURID MONARCHS 223

Baber, — No history of Persia would be complete
without some account of Zahir-u-Din Mohamed, famous
by his surname Baber, the " Tiger," son of Omar Shaykh
Mirza and grandson of Abu Said. This conqueror of
India was born in a.h. 888 (1483) and succeeded to his
father's princedom of Ferghana when only in his twelfth
year. His inheritance was disputed by his two uncles,
who, however, after some negotiations retired, and in
A.H. 903 (1497) the boy-king took advantage of the pre-
vailing anarchy and marched on Samarcand, of which he
obtained possession. We read ^ how deeply he admired
the great mosque and the palaces set in gardens with
their beautiful tiles and stately avenues of elms, poplars,
and plane-trees ; the delicious melons and plums also won
his approval. Treachery at home robbed him of the
fruits of victory, and he was for a while deserted by his
troops. But he raised a fresh army, and in a.h. 906
(1550) again captured Samarcand. Being afterwards de-
feated by Mohamed Shaybani, he had to swim the River
Kohik to save his life, and, retreating on Samarcand, he
was blockaded there by the victor and in the end forced
to retire from Transoxiana.

It happened at this time that Kabul was in a state of
anarchy, its governor (who was Baber's uncle) having
died, and the nobles having seized upon the government.
Baber made a bold bid for the derelict state, and won it
in A.H. 909 (1503). Two years later he carried out the
first of his famous expeditions into India, which culmi-
nated in the founding of the mighty dynasty of the
Moghuls.

The Literary and Scientific Attainments of the Timurid
Dynasty, — The dynasty of Tamerlane, which lasted for
close on a century and a half, included many members
who earned literary distinction. Tamerlane himself, in
my opinion, wrote the Memoirs and Institutes that bear his
name, and his literary talents were inherited by Shah
Rukh, himself a poet of no mean order. His son, Ulugh
Beg the Scientist, gave to the Turks a place in literature

1 Vide Baber's Memoirs, by W. Erskine, 1826 ; also a later edition by Lt.-Col.
F. G. Talbot, D.S.O., in 1909. There is no doubt as to the genuineness of this
delightful autobiography.

224 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, lx

and science which they had never before occupied ;
Baber, too, perhaps the most illustrious of Tamerlane's
descendants, has added lustre to his race as a writer of
poetry and history. The culture and attainments of these
princes attracted the most brilliant men of the day, and to
those who, like myself, have been privileged to travel
in Central Asia, the names of Samarcand and Bokhara
evoke imperishable memories of this great dynasty, whose
splendid buildings challenge even in their decay our deep
admiration.

V " ' - • (J

'O^^J'u^ii

The "Diwan" of Jalal-u-Din, Rumi.
(From a MS. in the British Museum.)

CHAPTER LXI

LITERATURE AND ARCHITECTURE UNDER THE MONGOLS

Up, O ye lovers, and away ! *Tis time to leave the world for aye.
Hark, loud and clear from heaven the drum of parting calls — let none delay !
The cameleer hath risen amain, made ready all the camel-train.
And quittance now desires to gain : why sleep ye, travellers, I pray ?
Behind us and before there swells the din of parting and of bells ;
To shoreless Space each moment sails a disembodied spirit away.
From yonder starry lights and through those curtain-awnings darkly blue
Mysterious figures float in view, all strange and secret things display.
From this orb, wheeling round its pole, a wondrous slumber o'er thee stole :
O weary life that weighest naught, O sleep that on my soul dost weigh !
O heart, towards thy heart's love wend, and O friend, fly toward the Friend,
Be wakeful, watchman, to the end : drowse seemingly no watchman may.

From Nicholson's translation of the Dinvan of Jalal-u-Din, Rumi.

The Historians of the Early Mongol Period, — In the
chapters relating to the Mongols reference has been made
to the celebrated historians on whose writings they were
based, and therefore it seems desirable to preface this
brief review of literature under the Mongols by some
details as to their life and work. Foremost in this class
was Izz-u-Din, Ibn-ul-Athir, author of the great chronicle
known as al-Kdmil^ or " Complete,*' which contains the
history of the world as known to Moslems from the
beginning down to a.h. 628 (1230). D'Ohsson made
full use of this work and mentions it first in the account
he gives of the various authorities consulted by him. He

VOL, II 225 Q

226 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

also utilized the valuable history known as the Tarikh-i-
Jahan-Gusha^ or "History of the World- Conqueror,"
written by Ala-u-Din Juwayni (so called from a district
in Khorasan), who being the Secretary of Hulagu enjoyed
exceptional advantages. This history treats of the origin
of the Mongols and the conquests of Chengiz Khan,
of the Khwarazm Shahs, and of Hulagu's campaign
against the Assassins, in which the author took part. A
third history is the Jami-ul-Tawartkh^ or " Collection of
Histories," by Rashid-u-Din Fazl UUa, who wrote in
the reigns of Ghazan Khan and of his successor. It
treats fully of the Mongols and also of the dynasties
which ruled in Persia immediately before the Mongol
invasion. A fourth historian is the Jacobite Christian
known as Barhebraeus, or " The Son of the Jew." His
Abridgement of the History of Dynasties is carried down to
the accession of Arghun and is of great value. Finally
there is Shibab-u-Din, Mohamed of Nisa, the secretary
of the fighting Jalul-u-Din of Khwarazm, whose history
was written in a.h. 639 (1241), ten years after the death
of his master, and is a useful contribution to our know-
ledge of the stirring adventures in which he himself took
a part.

The Later Historians. — Of the historians who wrote
in the later Mongol period, Mirkhond, who was born in
the middle of the fifteenth century, and his son Khondemir
are the best known. Mirkhond was attached to the
Court of Herat, and his patron was the cultivated Ali
Shir, Vizier of Sultan Husayn. His great work is the
Rauzat-u-Safa^ or " Garden of Purity," which is a general
history of Persia in seven ponderous tomes from the
creation to a.d. 1471. His narrative, like those of other
writers, is enlivened by numerous anecdotes. Khondemir
was the author of an abridgement of his father's history
and also wrote a history of the Mongols. Owing to the
Uzbeg irruption, Khondemir quitted Khorasan in a.d.
1528 and lived at the Court of Baber in India.

Takut^ the Geographer. — Among the geographers,
Yakut, son of Abdulla, occupies the first place. Born
in A.D. 1 179 of Greek parents, he was sold as a slave, but

Lxi LITERATURE UNDER MONGOLS 227

nevertheless obtained a good education and travelled all
over Persia. As already mentioned, he was among the
fortunate few who escaped death at Merv. His flight
across Northern Persia ended at Mosul, where in a.d. 1244
he completed his Mujam-ul-Buldan^ or "Dictionary of
Countries/' This work has been made available to the
European student by the gifted Frenchman Barbier de
Meynard, and has been among my most valued books of
reference.

Nasir-u-Din^ the Philosopher and Man of Science, —
Among the courtiers of the last Grand Master of the
Assassins was Nasir-u-Din, the famous philosopher of
Tus, who had been kidnapped to serve as his instructor
and adviser, and who persuaded his master to surrender
to the Mongols. He was treated with much respect by
Hulagu Khan, over whom he exercised unbounded
influence, and it was chiefly his advice which induced the
Mongol Prince to undertake the final advance on Baghdad.
His range included religion, philosophy, mathematics,
physics, and astronomy, on which subjects he wrote at
great length, and one of his chief claims to fame is that
he persuaded Hulagu to found the celebrated observatory
at Maragha. >

The Sufis or Mystics. — Among the most famous poets
of Persia were the mystics or Sufis, " Wearers of Wool,"
as they are termed, and this spirit of mysticism has per-
meated Persian literature and the Persian mind to a
remarkable extent.^ Its origin is hard to trace. Possibly
it is a modern form of ancient philosophies, more especi-
ally of Neo-Platonism and Manicheanism. Others hold
that it is a reaction of Aryanism against the formalism of
the Moslem religion, and, again, the philosophy of India
has been looked on as its fountain-head.

The true founder of the system is believed to have
been Abu Said ibn Abul Khayr, who was born in Khorasan
towards the end of the tenth century of our era. When
asked to explain his doctrine, he replied, " What thou
hast in thy head, i,e. thy ambitions, resign ; what thou
bearest in thy hand throw away ; and whatsoever cometh

1 Nizami and Attar, of the ^re.-M9"gol period, were myatiq^il joeLta*

228 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

upon thee, turn not back." Browne, in summing up the
beliefs of this extraordinary man as revealed in his verses,
gives such a masterly description of Sufi thought that I
cannot do better than quote it :

'' There is the fundamental conception of God as not
only Almighty and All-good, but as the sole source of
Being and Beauty, and, indeed, the one Beauty and the
one Being, ' in Whom is submerged whatever becomes
non-apparent, and by Whose light whatever is apparent
is made manifest.' Closely connected with this is the
symbolic language so characteristic of these, and, indeed,
of nearly all mystics, to whom God is essentially ' the
Friend,' ' the Beloved,' and ' the Darling ' ; the ecstasy of
meditating on Him * the Wine ' and ^ the Intoxication ' ;
His self-revelations and Occulations, ' the Face ' and ' the
Night-black Tresses,' and so forth. There is also the
exaltation of the Subjective and Ideal over the Objective
and Formal, and the spiritual! sation of religious obligations
and formulae, which has been already noticed amongst the
Ismailis, from whom, though otherwise strongly divergent,
the Sufis probably borrowed it. Last, but not least, is
the broad tolerance which sees Truth in greater or less
measure in all Creeds ; recognises that ' the Ways unto
God are as the number of the souls of men ' ; and, with
the later Hafiz, declares that ' any shrine is better than
self-worship.' " ^

Jalal-u-DiYLy Rumi. — Jalal-u-Din of Rum, or Asia
Minor, is held to be the greatest of all the Sufi poets.
Born at Balkh early in the thirteenth century of our era,
he may be claimed as yet another of the extraordinary
men of whom Khorasan can justly boast. When he was
five years old, his father Baha-u-Din, a leading theologian,
was forced to leave his home, and, according to the story,
passed through Nishapur, where Attar blessed the boy
and foretold his future fame. Baha-u-Din settled at
Iconium, and on this account the poet was termed Rumi.

His great work, the Masnavi^ has exercised more
influence on thought in Iran and Turkey than any other
written in the Persian tongue, and is even spoken of as

^ op. at. vol. ii. p. 267.

Lxi LITERATURE UNDER MONGOLS 229

" the Koran in the Persian language." To quote Pro-
fessor Cowell : "The stories themselves are generally
easy, and told in a delightful style ; but the disquisitions
which interrupt them are often ^ darker than the darkest
oracles/ and unintelligible even to the Persians themselves
without a copious commentary. When he is clear, no
Persian poet can surpass his depth of thought or beauty
of imagery ; the flow of fine things runs on unceasingly
as from a river-god's urn." ^

The poem, which is of great length, opens with the
following beautiful " Song of the Reed " :

List to the reed, that now with gentle strains
Of separation from its home complains.

Down where the waving rushes grow

I murmured with the passing blast,
And ever in my notes of woe

There lives the echo of the past.

My breast is pierced with sorrow's dart,
That I my piercing wail may raise ;

Ah me ! the lone and widowed heart
Must ever weep for bye-gone days.

My voice is heard in every throng

W"here mourners weep and guests rejoice,

And men interpret still my song

In concert with their passions' voice.

Though plainly cometh forth my wail,

'Tis never bared to mortal ken ;
As soul from body hath no veil,

Yet is the soul unseen of men.^

His Diwan, or collection of odes, is less known than the
Masnaviy although there runs a legend that Sadi, on being
requested by his royal patron to select the finest and most
sublime ode ^ in the Persian tongue, chose one out of the
Diwan beginning :

Divine Love's voice each instant left and right is heard to sound :
We're bound for heaven. To witness our departure who'll be found ?

1 Oxford Essay Sf 1855.

2 Translation by Professor E. H. Palmer.

^ Nicholson's beautiful verse-translation of another of the odes is quoted as a heading
to this chapter.

230 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

This ode he sent to the Prince with the following remarks :
" Never have more beautiful words been uttered, nor ever
will be. Would that I could go to Rum and rub my
face in the dust at his feet ! ''

Jalal-u-Din founded the order of Mevlevi, or
" Dancing Dervishes," whose performances are one of
the sights of Constantinople and certainly constitute a
fantastic side of Sufiism.

Sadi. — Persians differ among themselves on most
questions, but they agree that the great province of
Iran is Fars, and that among its chief claims to great-
ness is that it produced the two poets celebrated for all
time as Sadi and Hafiz. Musharrlf-u-Din, known as
Sadi, owing to his having received the protection of Sad
bin Zangi, mentioned in Chapter LIII., is deservedly the
favourite poet in Persia, owing to his catholic tastes and
the fact that he is intensely human. Unlike Attar and
Jalal-u-Din, he was not passionately devout, but was half-
worldly, half-devout. He was not one of the essentially
mystical poets, having no visionary strain, and he adopted
some of their forms rather as a vehicle of thought and
expression than in order to preach Sufi doctrines.

Born towards the close of the twelfth century of our
era, Sadi was left an orphan at an early age, as we know
from his pathetic reference to the fact in the Bustan^
which runs :

Caress not and kiss not a child of thine own
In the sight of an orphan neglected and lone.

If the orphan sheds tears, who his grief will assuage ?
If his temper should fail him, who cares for his rage ?

O see that he weeps not, for surely God's throne
Doth quake at the orphan's most pitiful moan !

Upon his father's death he studied at the renowned
Nizamia College at Baghdad for a while, and then made
a journey to distant Kashgar, the date of which, from a
reference made by the poet, can be fixed approximately
at A.D. I2IO. His travels were indeed extraordinarily
wide, ranging from India, where he had a grim adventure
with a priest in the temple at Somnath, to Palestine, where

Lxi LITERATURE UNDER MONGOLS 231

he was enslaved by the Crusaders until ransomed by an
acquaintance. According to one account Sadi performed
the pilgrimage to Mecca fifteen times, in itself a remark-
able record of travel when the distances and means of
communication are considered. Other countries visited
were Egypt, Abyssinia, and Asia Minor.

When middle-aged this Persian Ulysses returned
to Shiraz, which he ever loved, and published the fruits
of his travel and experience of life in the Gulistan^ or
"Rose Garden," in the Bustan^ or "Orchard,*' and in other
works. The first -named, which students of Persian
generally attempt when beginning to learn the language,
although by reason of its terse epigrammatic form it is by
no means an easy text-book, is more read and better known
by all classes in Persia than any other work except the
Koran. In its pages we sit behind the curtain with the
poet and join him in all his adventures, laughing with
him at his astuteness, and realizing how far removed
Eastern ethics are from those we profess. As an example
of this we may refer to the very first story, which points
the moral that " an expedient lie is better than a mischiev-
ous truth " ; and again, a soldier who deserted in battle
is defended because his pay was in arrears. Such were
the ethics Sadi preached, and such they remain in Persia
to-day ; if we ignore this fact we fail to grasp the Persian
point of view. As Browne says, " His writings are a
microcosm of the East, alike in its best and most ignoble
aspects."

Of the Gull Stan the following lines, translated by
E. B. Eastwick, are typical :

Life is like snow in July's sun :

Little remains and is there one

To boast himself and vaunt thereon ?

With empty hand thou hast sought the mart ;

I fear thou wilt with thy turban part.

Who eat their corn while yet 'tis green

At the true harvest can but glean ;

To Sadi's counsel let thy soul give heed :

This is the way — be manful and proceed.

To conclude, I give a charming translation by Browne
of an ode on beloved Shiraz :

232 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

O cypress-tree, with silver limbs, this colour and scent of thine
Have shamed the scent of the myrtle-plant and the bloom of the
eglantine.

Judge with thine eyes, and set thy foot in the garden fair and free.
And tread jasmine under thy foot, and the flowers of the Judas-tree.

O joyous and gay is the New Year's Day, and in Shiraz most of all ;
Even the stranger forgets his home, and becomes its willing thrall.

O'er the garden's Egypt, Joseph-like, the fair red rose is King,
And the Zephyr, e'en to the heart of the town, doth the scent of his
raiment bring.

O wonder not if in time of Spring thou dost rouse such jealousy,
That the cloud doth weep while the flowrets smile, and all on account
of thee !

If o'er the dead thy feet should tread, those feet so fair and fleet.
No wonder it were if thou should'st hear a voice from his winding
sheet.

Distraction is banned from this our land in the time of our lord the

King,
Save that I am distracted with love of thee, and men with the songs I

sing.

Hajiz, — The second of the two great poets of Fars,
Shams-u-Din Mohamed, known by his title of Hafiz,^
was born at the beginning of the fourteenth century —
the exact date is not known — at Shiraz, where he resided
throughout his life. During his youth he was devoted
to pleasure, luxury, and the wine-cup, but, tiring of them
in his old age, he became religious and attached to
Sufiism. Unlike Sadi, he was no traveller, having the
typical Persian fear of the sea. Being tempted to visit
India by a pressing invitation to the Court of Mahmud
Shah Bahmani, he travelled to Hormuz and embarked
in one of the royal ships ; but he was so sea-sick and
generally upset that he insisted on being allowed to return
to the port. After reaching land he wrote a charming
ode in which the following verse occurs :

The glare of gems confused my sight.
The ocean's roar I ne'er had heard ;

But now that I can feel aright
I freely own how I have erred.

^ This title implies, as already explained, that its bearer knows the Koran by heart.

Lxi LITERATURE UNDER MONGOLS 233

The historical interview of Hafiz with Tamerlane has
already been recorded. Two or three years later the
poet died and was buried in a garden outside his beloved
Shiraz.

His enemies wished to prevent him from receiving
the burial of a Moslem, and declared that by publicly
drinking wine and praising its use he had become a Kafir
or infidel. After a hot discussion it was agreed that the
question should be decided by lot. A number of couplets
written by the poet were thrown into an urn, and a child,
being instructed to draw, drew forth one which ran :

Fear not to approach the corpse of Hafiz,
Although stained with sin, he will enter heaven.

This completely disconcerted his ill-wishers and he was
buried with all proper rites. Even now, however, at
intervals some turbulent priest attains a temporary
notoriety by defacing the tomb. An instance of this
occurred some years ago when I was spending the
summer at Shiraz.

Hafiz, the greatest of the lyrical poets, a materialist
and a mystic, was a very typical Persian of his day ; and at
Shiraz it is easy to understand his love of spending days in
the shady gardens, with wine and women, seated by running
water. In most parts of Persia the influence of Islam
has tended to produce an external aspect which may be
termed puritanical, but at Shiraz one is among an excitable,
laughter-loving people, whom to know is to like.

The chief work of Hafiz is his Diwan, or " Collection
of Odes," of which I cannot do better than quote a speci-
men, as translated by Cowell :

Hither, hither, O cup-bearer, hand round and give the cup.

For love at first showed easy, but difficulties have come

At the odour of musk which the breeze will unfold from those tresses,

From the curls of those musky ringlets, what blood hath fallen in our

hearts !
Stain thou with wine thy prayer-carpet if the old man of the tavern

commands thee.
For the traveller is not ignorant of the ways and customs of the inn.
To me in the inn of my beloved, what peace or joy when every

moment

234 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

The bell proclaims the summons, " Bind on your burdens,

travellers ! '*
Dark is the night ; there is fear of the wave and a dreadful whirlpool ;
How should they know our state, the careless ones on the shore ?
Wilfully ye distort my every deed to my reproach ;
How should that secret remain concealed, when they make it their

common discourse ?
If thou desire her presence, O Hafiz, forsake her not ;
And when thou attainest thy desire, quit the world, and let it go.

Jami. — The last great classical poet of Persia, who
flourished in the fifteenth century, was Abdur Rahman,
known by his title of Jami from his birth at the little
town of Turbat-i-Shaykh-Jam, situated between Meshed
and the Afghan frontier.^ Educated at Samarcand, he
repaired to Herat, where he was well received by Ali
Shir, the Maecenas of the age. His fame soon spread
all over the Moslem world, and among his correspondents
was Mohamed II., the captor of Constantinople.

A story still told of Jami runs that he was once visited
by a rival and for three days the poets engaged in a
contest, answering one another in beautiful verse. Jami,
however, inspired by this rivalry, surpassed himself and
reached superhuman heights. The stranger, realizing his
inferiority, was observed to be overcome, his head fell on
his breast, and when called upon to reply he remained
silent — in the silence of death.

Jami's works, like those of Jalal-u-Din, deal chiefly
with moral philosophy and mysticism. Thanks to Fitz-
Gerald, his Salaman and Absal is the best known of his
works, although the translator does not rise to the heights
he reaches elsewhere. Tusuf and Zulaykha is perhaps the
best known of his works in Persia. The story running
through this poem is that Zulaykha, Potiphar's wife, after
tempting Joseph in vain, became blind from weeping, and
Joseph, finding her in this state, prayed that her sight
and beauty might be restored and finally married her.
Sir WilHam Jones translated extracts from the poem, one
of which runs :

In the morning when the raven of night had flown away,
The bird of dawn began to sing ;

1 Fide "A Fifth Journey in Persia," Journal Royal Geographical Society, Dec. 1906.

Lx. ARCHITECTURE UNDER MONGOLS 235

The nightingales warbled their enchanting notes,

And rent the thin veils of the rosebud and the rose ;

The jasmine stood bathed in dew.

And the violet also sprinkled his fragrant locks.

At this time Zulaykha was sunk in pleasing slumber ;

Her heart was turned towards the altar of her sacred vision.

It was not sleep : it was rather a confused idea :

It was a kind of frenzy caused by her nightly melancholy.

Her damsels touched her feet with their faces,

Her maidens approached and kissed her hand.

Then she removed the veil from her cheek, like a tulip besprinkled

with dew ;
She opened her eyes, yet dim with sleep ;
From the border of her mantle the sun and moon arose ;
She raised her head from the couch and looked round on every side.

The Tomb of Khudabanda at Sultania, — To deal at any
length with the architecture of the period is beyond my
powers and the scope of this work. I therefore propose
to do little more than make a few remarks about buildings
with most of which I am personally acquainted.

The most important city of the Mongol Il-Khans was
Sultania, situated about one hundred miles to the west of
Kazvin. This city was founded by Uljaitu, or Khuda-
banda, in A.H. 705 (1305). He entertained the project
of transporting the bones of Ali and Husayn from Najaf
and Kerbela respectively, and erected a superb building to
receive the sacred remains. His plan was never realized
and the building became his own mausoleum. Octagonal
in plan, with a minaret rising at each angle, it is sur-
mounted by a dome measuring 84 feet in diameter, the
largest in Persia. According to Josafa Barbaro,^ "the
great cowpe is bigger than that of San Joanni Paulo in
Venice." The tomb of Khudabanda is certainly the finest
building of its kind erected under the Mongols. As
Creswell^ points out, its beautiful outline is not spoiled
by the piling-up of material on its haunches, as in the case
of Santa Sophia at Constantinople and of the Pantheon at
Rome.

The Shrine ofthelmamRiza, — The great pile at Meshed/

^ Travels of Venetians in Persia^ p. 68.

■^ "The History and Evolution of the Dome in Persia," by K, A. C. Ores well
{Journal R, A. S., Oct. 1914).

^ Vide my "Historical Notes on Khorasan," 'Journal R.A.S., Oct. 19 10.

236 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

the Glory of the Shia World, like the magnificent Gothic
cathedrals in Europe, was erected during the course of
many generations, each of which saw some addition.
The most ancient part of the pile is the tomb-chamber,
believed to be the actual mausoleum built by Mamun
over the remains of Haroun-al-Rashid, and used a few
years later as the burying-place of the Imam Riza.-^ The
dome was apparently low and erected over a chamber
33 feet square, and it is stated that the present golden
dome was built over the ancient one which still exists.
For 200 years the tomb was neglected, but at the
beginning of the eleventh century Mahmud of Ghazni
dreamed a dream, in consequence of which he ordered the
Governor of Nishapur to add to the shrine and to build
a wall round it.

The shrine, apparently, was again neglected until the
reign of Sultan Sanjar. An inscription which was copied
for me shows that by his orders it was repaired in
A.H. 512 (1118). This inscription and one bearing the
date A. H. 612 (12 1 5) prove that the tomb-chamber was
not destroyed by the Mongols, although they sacked it ;
we may consequently accept this as the original tomb-
chamber — a fact of some importance. The building was
cased with tiles, of which fragments remain.

The Mosque of Gauhar Shad, — Among the greatest
benefactors of the Shrine was Gauhar Shad, wife of Shah
Rukh, and to her piety we owe the magnificent mosque
called by her name, which perhaps constitutes the crown-
ing architectural achievement of the Mongols. It is,
indeed, a noble quadrangle, with four great arches. That
to the south-west, known as the Aywan-i-Maksura^ or
"Portico of the Sanctuary,'* supports a blue dome, and in it
the services are held. The illustration shows the beautiful
tile and plaster work inside the Portico ; it also gives the
pulpit which, according to Shia belief, will be ascended
by the Twelfth Imam on the Day of Judgment. The
loftiness and elegance of the quadrangle, together with its
perfect proportions and exquisite tile-work, make it the
noblest mosque in Central Asia. In front of the magnifi-

^ Vide Chapter L. p. 73.

Lxi ARCHITECTURE UNDER MONGOLS 237

cent portico is an inscription in large white letters on
a dark-blue ground which struck me as most beautiful.
I give a translation, as it is typical and of historical
value :

" Her Highness, the Noble in Greatness, the Sun of
the Heaven of Chastity and Continence, Famous for
Nobility and Honour and Piety, Gauhar Shad, may her
Greatness be eternal, and may her Chastity endure and
may her Charity increase with true Thought and high,
and with Pious Intent of Heart of Lofty Ideal for
fulfilling and accomplishing her hopes in Allah, may He
accept it ; from her private property for the benefit of
her future state and for the Day on which the Works of
every one will be judged, with Zeal for Allah and with
desire to please AUah and with Thankfulness for the
Benefits of Allah and for Praise of the Benefits** granted
by Allah, built this Great Masjid-i-Jami, the Holy House,
in the era of the reign of the Great Sultan, and the more
Just Khakan, the more Generous, the Lord of Rulers of
the Arabs and of Ajam, the Sultan, son of a Sultan, the
Father of Victory, Shah Rukh, son of Timur Gurkani,
Bahadur Khan. May Allah make eternal his Kingdom
and Empire ! And may he increase on the inhabitants
of the world his Goodness, his Justice and his Generosity !
Thus may Allah accept her work with beneficent accept-
ance and may He bless her with His choice blessings
and may He grant her the greater of the boons which He
has promised to the good ! Baisunghur, son of Shah
Rukh, son of Timur Gurkani, wrote this inscription with
hope in Allah in 821 (1418).''

No description of this great mosque would be com-
plete without a reference to the " Mosque of the Old
Woman.'' The legend runs that an old dame who
owned a tiny plot of the land required by Gauhar Shad
declined to sell it at any price, but insisted that a separate
mosque should be erected on it. To the eternal credit
of the Royal Consort this unreasonable demand was
complied with, and the " Mosque of the Old Woman ''
testifies to the fact.

I have visited Samarcand and have studied its splendid

238 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

colleges, but, like Vamb6ry, I award the palm to the
stately pile of Gauhar Shad.

The Madrasa at Khargird. — Near Khaf, on the Perso-
Afghan frontier, is situated a college which was erected
during the reign of Shah Rukh, as I learned from its
inscriptions. The edifice was massively built and is still
in good condition, covering an area of five-sevenths of an
acre. It was designed in the usual form of a quadrangle,
with a noble gateway, and in the interior there were four
fine porticoes. The coloured bricks were still intact at the
time of my visit, but the exquisite mosaics were badly
damaged. I noted their colour as sapphire -blue, with
green, yellow, and white, the motive of the pattern being
conventional Kufic lettering. Fine dark-blue tiles with
conventional flowers in light blue, white, and gold had
originally covered the walls, the finest being great stars,
but these, alas ! had been almost entirely carried oiF. On
either side of the main gate was a domed building, decor-
ated with most artistic plaster mouldings. The panelling
consisted of dark-blue tiles relieved by hexagons of white
marble. This noble pile is now deserted and falling into
decay, but my visit made me realize what a dazzling blaze
of blue splendour it must have presented at the time of
its completion in a.h. 848 (1445).

The Mahun Shrine, — In the vicinity of Kerman, at
Mahun, is a beautiful shrine erected in memory of
Sayyid Nur-u-Din, better known by his title of Shah
Namat UUa, who flourished in the reigns of Tamerlane
and Shah Rukh. The Shrine is entered by an imposing
gateway supported by two minarets, the predominating
colour of which is a bluish green. Two gigantic old
chinars or Oriental planes give that particular touch which,
in conjunction with the bright sunlight, shows tiles to the
best advantage. The oblong court which is first entered,-
together with the gateway, was erected by Mohamed Shah
of the Kajar dynasty, and is consequently modern. A
second courtyard with old-world rooms lies behind the
first ; it was the gift of Sayyid Nisa, a disciple of the
Saint. From this the blue dome is seen at its best ;
indeed, the main building, consisting of a central chamber

Lxi ARCHITECTURE UNDER MONGOLS 239

supported by galleries, is remarkably graceful and well
proportioned. The western gallery, which is entered
from the second court, was the gift of Shah Abbas in
A.H. 999 (1601). Its inside walls are decorated with
artistic frescoes of flowers.

The tomb of the Saint, composed of blocks of
yellow marble, is placed beneath the dome, the most
ancient part of the structure. This, as the inscription
shows, was erected in a.h. 840 (1437) by Ahmad Shah,
of the Bahmanid dynasty of the Deccan, who was the
Saint's disciple. The doors, of sandal-wood, are falling
into hopeless decay. The tomb of Shah Khalil Ulla, the
grandson of the Saint, lies behind a lattice. The eastern
gallery opens out on to a lovely courtyard through a
gateway supported by two smaller minarets. In it are
cypress -trees and flower-beds and a cruciform tank of
running water.

The Shrine possesses a distinct charm, due perhaps to
the combination of tiles, greenery, and running water,
glorified by the deep blue of the cloudless Persian sky,
and its dainty beauty makes a deep impression on the
traveller.

Ismail I.

CHAPTER LXII

THE RISE OF THE SAFAVI DYNASTY

As when the Tartar from his Russian foe,
By Astracan, over the snowy plains,
Retires, or Bactrian Sophi, from the horns
Of Turkish crescent, leaves all waste beyond
The realm of Aladule, in his retreat
To Tauris or Casbeen.

Paradise Lost, Book X. lines 431-6.

The Ancestors of the Safavi Dynasty, — The Safavi
dynasty traced its descent from Musa Kazim, the seventh
Imam and younger brother of Ismail, who is referred to
in Chapter LI. The family had been settled at Ardebil
for many generations and was highly esteemed, especially
one member called Safi-u-Din, or the " Purity of the
Faith," a title from which the dynasty took its name.
In equal esteem was his son Sadr-u-Din, who received a
visit from Tamerlane, and on being offered a boon asked
the release of Turkish prisoners brought from Diarbekir.
Tamerlane acceded to the request, and the captives, after
recovering their liberty, declared themselves the disciples
of the Shaykh of Ardebil. Their descendants, emigrating
by thousands into Gilan, aided his family to found a
dynasty.

Khoja Ali, the next head of the family, proceeded on
a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where, according to Malcolm,
his tomb was still shown a century ago as that of the
" Shaykh of Persia." Junayd, his successor, attracted so
many disciples that Jahan Shah, the Kara Kuyunlu Prince,
drove him into exile. He thereupon proceeded to the
Court of Uzun Hasan at Diarbekir, where he was received

240

CH. Lxii RISE OF THE SAP AVI DYNASTY 241

with high honours and given a sister of the Prince in
marriage. Being prevented from returning to Ardebil,
he lived at Shirwan, where he was killed in a local
skirmish. His son Haydar inherited the warlike spirit
bf the Ak-Kuyunlu, and his uncle Uzun Hasan bestowed
on him his daughter by the Greek princess. She bore
him Sultan Ali, Ibrahim Mirza^ and Shah Ismail. The last
named was the founder of the Safavi dynasty, which was
thus partly of Greek descent on the distaff side. Haydar
apparently attempted to avenge his father's death by an
assault on Shirwan, but he was slain ^ and his followers
were defeated. Yet in death be became more powerful
than during life ; for he was regarded as a martyr and
his tomb at Ardebil became a plac9' of pilgrimage. Sultan
Ali succeeded his father, but was seized by Yakub, the
reigning Ak-Kuyunlu Prince, and together with his two
brothers was thrown into prison at Istakhr. They escaped
from their confinement, but Sultan Ali was killed and
Ibrahim Mirza died shortly afterwards in Gilan. Thus
Ismail remained the only survivor of his father's family.

Ismail^ the Founder of the Dynasty^ a.h. 905-930 (1499—
1524). — The strength of the Safavi family lay in Gilan.
Ismail collected a small force in this province and his
first enterprise was the capture of Baku and Shamakha in
Shirwan. His success aided him to increase his following
to 16,000 men, by whose aid he defeated Alamut or
Alwand, Prince of the Ak-Kuyunlu dynasty. He then
marched on Tabriz, which surrendered, and was proclaimed
Shah. In the following year Shah Ismail defeated and
killed Murad, brother of Alamut, in the neighbourhood of
Hamadan. Alamut was subsequently handed over to the
victor by treachery and was killed by the hands of Ismail,
who possibly thereby avenged his father's death.

Reference has been made more than once in this
history to the Persian love for the house of Ali as
expressed in Shia doctrines, and at last the national feeling
was satisfied in the person of the monarch ; for he was
no mere chieftain of a warlike tribe whose elevation to

^ Considerable divergence of opinion prevails as to how Haydar met his death ;
indeed there is much obscurity as to events preceding the rise of Ismail.

VOL. II R

242 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

the throne must provoke inevitable jealousies, but a veri-
table descendant of Ali, whose birth would unite the
tribesmen in his service. The co-operation of seven
Turkish tribes in his support furnished proof that a new
epoch had opened. The Kizilbash, or " Red heads *' ^ — a
name by which the Ustajlu, Shamlu, Takalu, Baharlu,
Zulkadar, Kajar, and Afshar tribes were honoured — all
being sworn upholders of the Shia religion, regarded
their sovereign as both saint and king, no incompatible
functions in the East.

After annihilating the rival " White Sheep " dynasty.
Shah Ismail annexed Baghdad and Mosul. Later on he
obtained possession of Diarbekir, and so successful was
he that in a few years he had conquered the wide-spreading
empire of the Ak-Kuyunlu. His activity was exceptional,
and we read of his being engaged in a single season in
operations ranging from Baku in the north to Shuster in
the south.

The Defeat of the Uzbegs by Shah Ismail, a.h. 916
(i^io). — After securing his power in North- Western and
Western Persia, Shah Ismail marched into Khorasan,
which, as mentioned in Chapter LX., had fallen into the
hands of the Uzbegs. He sent an envoy to Shaybani'
Khan requesting him to desist from his invasions, but
the contemptuous reply was, " If Shah Ismail has suffered
any diminution of his paternal possessions, it is easy to
restore them to him in their entirety.'' To add point
to the message, a staff and begging bowl were sent to
the Shah. A spindle and reel were the return gifts,
signifying that words were a woman's weapons.

Shaybani Khan's army had fought a battle in a.h.
01 r (1510) against the Kazaks of the Dasht-i-Kipchak,
and the Uzbeg monarch had engraved a record of what
he claimed as a victory^ in a defile to the north of
Meshed, which I have visited, and which at any rate
proves that much of Khorasan had fallen under the

Uzbegs.

Shah Ismail advanced against the enemy with great

1 These tribesmen wore a scarlet head-piece ^ ,^ ^ , ^ ^ ■ .i,-

2 Khondemir and other historians state that the Uzbegs were defeated in this

campaign.

Lxii RISE OF THE SAFAVI DYNASTY 243

rapidity and met the Uzbeg army in the neighbourhood
of MerVj where, by means of a successful ambush, 1 7,000
Persians utterly defeated 28,000 Uzbegs. Shaybani Khan
fled to an enclosure by the River Murghab, and upon
the capture of his place of refuge he was killed while
attempting to jump his horse over the wall. His head
was cut off and taken before the victor, by whose orders
it was mounted in gold and set with jewels to serve as
a goblet. After this victory Balkh and Herat were
occupied, and Shah Ismail returned in triumph to Persia,
leaving a large force to conduct further operations against
the Uzbegs.

Shah Ismail and Baber, — Among the captives at Merv
was a sister of Baber, who was treated with honour by
the victor and restored to her brother. This act of
courtesy was the beginning of an alliance, and Baber,
taking advantage of the death of Shaybani Khan, invaded
Transoxiana and defeated the Uzbegs, whom he pursued
as far as the Iron Gates. Reinforced by a Persian army,
he followed up this success, and, sweeping aside aU
opposition, once again entered Samarcand, amid demon-
strations of enthusiasm. But he was not destined to
occupy the throne of Tamerlane ; for his acceptance of
Persian suzerainty, combined with hatred for the Persian
Shias in Central Asia, soon cooled the affections of the
people. Meanwhile the Uzbegs, recovering from their
panic, rallied round Obayd-Ulla, the successor of Shaybani
Khan. Baber, with a force 40,000 strong, attacked the
Uzbeg chief, who had no more than 3000 men under his
command ; but the smaUer force, fighting with the courage
of despair, gained the day. After this disaster, the date
of which was a.h. 918 (1512), Baber retired to Hissar, to
the south-east of Samarcand.

The Final Defeat of Baber by the UzbegSy a.h. 918
(15 1 2), — Once again, reinforced by a large Persian army,
Baber marched on Samarcand, but at Ghajdavan, to the
north of Bokhara, he was beaten in a fiercely contested
battle. Accepting this defeat as final, he passed off
the stage of Central Asia. To show how unpopular his
alliance with the Shia Persians had been, I quote from

244 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

the Tarikh-i-Rashidi^ the writer of which, it must be re-
membered, was Baber*s cousin. He describes the battle
of Ghajdavan as follows :

The Uzbeg infantry began to pour forth their arrows from
every corner, so that very soon the claws of Islam twisted the
hands of heresy and unbelief, and victory declared for the true faith.
The victorious breezes of Islam overturned the banners of the
schismatics. (The Turkoman) were so completely routed, that
most of them perished on the field \ all the rents that had been
made by the swords at Karshi were now sewn up with the arrow
stitches of vengeance. They sent Mir Najm and all the
Turkoman Amirs to hell. The Emperor retired, broken and
crestfallen, to Hissar.

It is to be noted that in this account Shah Ismail's
troops are referred to as Turkoman. The Mir Najm was
the Persian commander, whose full title was Najm-i-Sani,
or "the Second Star." The result of this disaster was
to restore Transoxiana to the Uzbegs, who for many
generations thereafter were a serious menace to \)\t
eastern province of Persia. So indelibly have they im-
pressed themselves on the memory of the inhabitants of
Khorasan that the great meadow near Chinaran is still
known as Ulang-i~Shahi^ or '* The Royal Meadow,"
probably after Shaybani Khan, who was also known as
Shahi Beg. The Uzbeg monarch generally spent the
summer in this locality for the sake of the grazing, and
he built Geok Bagh, or " The Blue Garden," in which
I camped some six years ago.^

The Campaign of Selim the Grim^ a.h. 920 (1514)- —
Selim the Grim was one of the great conquerors of the
house of Othman,^ a cruel monarch revelling in blood-
shed, but nevertheless a writer of Persian odes and a
liberal patron to men of learning. The hatred felt for
the Shia Persians in Transoxiana appears clearly enough
from the failure of Baber to win success as an ally of the
schismatics ; and it is not difficult to understand why
Selim I. and his advisers, who were equally fanatical,
determined to crush the upstart power and the heresy

■* p. 261. 2 Journal R.G,S. for January 1911.

^ The account of the relations between Persia and Turkey is mainly based on the
monumental work by Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall.

Lxii RISE OF THE SAP AVI DYNASTY 245

it represented before it should be firmly established.
Moreover, Selim was probably aware of the despatch of
Persian envoys to Egypt and to Hungary.

The temper of the Sultan is shown by the fact that he
despatched secret agents to ascertain the number of the
Shia heretics in the Ottoman dominions and massacred
forty thousand out of a total of seventy thousand.
Having in this manner cleared his own dominions of
possible sympathizers with the enemy, Selim wrote
various letters to the Shah couched in the usual bom-
bastic style, to which Ismail replied that he had given
no provocation, and did not desire war. He added that
the tone of the letters must have been due to indulgence
in opium, and he therefore sent the royal secretary a box
of the drug. As Selim was himself addicted to the vice,
a fact which was probably known in Persia, the sarcasm
went home.

The Persian monarch, most of whose troops' were
engaged in Central Asia, decided on a defensive campaign,
and after laying waste the country to the west, posted
himself at Chaldiran, in the vicinity of Khoi on the
present north-west frontier of Persia. The Turkish force
suffered from both thirst and hunger, but it constituted
a regular army one hundred and twenty thousand strong,
consisting mainly of cavalry, but including several regi-
ments of musketeers and a contingent of powerful artillery.
The Ottoman tactics were to draw the Persian cavalry
within range of their artillery and muskets, and the guns
were therefore concealed behind the infantry. Shah
Ismail, aware of the Ottoman intention, separated his
own force, consisting entirely of cavalry and perhaps
sixty thousand strong, into two divisions, one of which
he led himself, while the other was placed under the
Chief of the Ustajlu. His plan was to attack the enemy
on both flanks simultaneously. The charge which he led
in person against the Turkish left wing was successful
and forced the Ottoman troops back on to the rear-guard.
But on the Turkish right the infantry, by retiring, un-
masked the artillery, which was used with deadly effect.
The Persian leader fell and his force broke and fled. The

246 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

janissaries, who had been kept in reserve, now opened
fire on the horsemen commanded by the Shah, who,
after performing prodigies of valour, fell from his horse
wounded and was nearly captured. Upon remounting
he fled, followed by his dispirited troops, and Selim won
the hard -fought battle. The Persian camp became the
victor's prize, all the male prisoners were massacred, and
Tabriz submitted to the Turks.

The campaign was not prosecuted into the heart of
Persia, as the Turkish army was mutinous and refused to
proceed. Selim was obliged to evacuate Tabriz, which
he sacked, and to content himself with the annexation of
Kurdistan and Diarbekir. Georgia he also annexed, but
this was afterwards recovered by Shah Ismail. Peace was
not concluded, and frontier raids continued for many
years.

In his next great campaign Selim turned his powerful
army against Egypt, which he converted into a Turkish
province. Of equal, if not greater, importance, was the
arrangement made with the puppet Caliph, who was
induced to make over to the conqueror his spiritual
authority, together with the standard and cloak of
Mohamed. In other words, the house of Othman
succeeded to the Caliphate, and at the present time it is
generally recognized as spiritual head of Islam by Sunni
Moslems,^ though not by Shias.

The Death of Shah Ismail and his Character. — Shah
Ismail, who was a capable, brave leader, is regarded with
much affection by Persians for having established the
Shia doctrines as the national religion. He was also
worshipped during his life as a saint, and his subjects
fought with fanaticism on his behalf, often refusing to
wear armour in battle. He was left-handed and of great
personal strength ; it is said that he never smiled after
his defeat by the Turks. He died at Ardebil in 1524
and was deeply mourned by all his subjects. -"-"^

Tahmasp^ a.h. 930-984 (i 524-1 576). — Tahmasp, the
eldest of the sons of Shah Ismail, succeeded to the throne

^ Educated Indian Moslems appear to be giving up their belief in the spiritual
supremacy of the Sultan and rather look upon him as the embodiment of the temporal
power of Islam. The war now raging may modify this view.

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Lxii RISE OF THE SAFAVI DYNASTY 247

in A.H. 930 (1524) at the age of ten, and was naturally
in the hands of the chiefs of the Kizilbash tribes, who
intrigued for power against one another. His first cam-
paign was against the Uzbegs, whom his general defeated
in A.H. 934 (1527) on a battlefield which was pointed out
to me near Turbat-i-Shaykh Jam. A rebellion called the
Shah to Baghdad, where the chief of the Kalhor tribe,
which still exists in the neighbourhood of Kermanshah,
had usurped the government. This rebel he put to
death. Yet again, in a. h. 937 (1530), the Uzbegs invaded
Persia and besieged Herat for eighteen months, until
upon the approach of Tahmasp they retreated.

The Invasions of Persia by Sulayman the Magnificent. —
The Ottoman menace was serious during the long reign of
Sulayman the Magnificent. That monarch, upon learning
of the death of Shah Ismail and the accession of hisrson, sent
the latter a minatory letter couched in insulting language.
The Persian monarch vouchsafed no reply, but despatched
envoys to the King of Hungary and to the Emperor
Charles VII. with proposals for an oflTensive and defensive
alliance. Fortunately for Persia, its poverty and lack of
resources made it a less desirable prey than the fair pro-
vinces of Hungary and Austria. Nevertheless, in a.h.
940 (1534) a Turkish army invaded the country, and
after conquering Mesopotamia, took Tabriz. Encouraged
by this success and by the submission of the rulers
of Shirwar and Gilan, or desiring to outdo his father's
exploits, Sulayman advanced as far east as Sultania ; he
then, with the loss of part of his artillery, crossed the
Zagros range and took possession of Baghdad. Four
years later he again invaded Persia and captured Tabriz ;
and subsequently he gained possession of the almost
impregnable fortress of Van. Tahmasp, the "Bactrian
Sophi," whose defensive policy is commemorated in the
lines of Milton quoted as a heading to this chapter,
followed up the invaders as they retreated, and, although
the Persians lost heavily owing to a clever Turkish ruse in
which a herd of horses was made to stampede the camp,
the results of the campaign were indecisive.

The Fugitive Emperor Humayun. — The foundation by

248 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Baber of the empire in India, with which from the begin-
ning of the seventeenth century England was in close
contact, lies outside the scope of this work. That illus-
trious monarch died in a.d. 1530, and ten years later his
successor, Humayun, was driven out by an insurrection
and took refuge in Persia, where Tahmasp, recollecting
the ties that united the two royal families, not only
received him with chivalrous courtesy, but aided him
with an army to regain the throne. A memorial of the
wandering of the royal fugitive exists in an inscription at
Turbat-i-Shaykh Jam, which runs :

O Thou whose mercy accepts the apology of all.
The mind of every one is exposed to Thy Majesty.
The threshold of thy gate is the Kibla ^ of all peoples.
Thy bounty with a glance supports every one.

A Wanderer in the Desert of Destitution.
Mohamed Humayun.
I4.th Shawal, a.h. 951 (Dec. 29, 1544).

It adds to the interest of this somewhat pathetic
memorial to learn that Humayun was married to a
daughter of the Shaykh of Jam, who bore him the famous
Akbar.

The Rebellion of Ilkhas Mirza, a.h. 954-955 (i547-
1548). — Sulayman was encouraged to make another
attempt on Persia by the rebellion of Ilkhas Mirza, a
brother of the Shah, who had fled to his court and whom
he treated with much distinction. He despatched an
army, and Azerbaijan and Isfahan were taken ; but Ilkhas
Mirza quarrelled with his allies and the campaign ended
in failure. The Pretender was afterwards captured and
put to death.

The Verso-Turkish Treaty of Peace^A.u, 962 (i555)- —
Since the foundation of the Safavi dynasty there had been
a state of hostilities, either active or in suspension, between
Persia and Turkey. Both states at last became weary
of the war, and in a.h. 961 (1554) a Persian ambassador,
the commander of the royal bodyguard, reached Erzeroum

1 This translation I owe to the late Ney Elias [Journal R.A.S., Jan. 1897). The
Kibla is the " direction " towards Mecca.

Lxii RISE OF THE SAFAVI DYNASTY 249

and asked for an armistice, which was granted. In the
following year a second Persian ambassador reached the
Ottoman camp. He was the bearer of a friendly letter,
in which permission was requested for Persian pilgrims to
visit the sacred cities. In reply Sulayman wrote that
there would be peace between the two states so long as
the Persians did not break it, and that the governors of
the frontier provinces would be instructed to protect
pilgrims bound for Mecca and Medina. This peace
ended the first series of campaigns between Persia and
Turkey, in which the latter power had generally been the
aggressor, while the former had mainly confined itself to
the defensive.

The Betrayal of Bayazid^ son of Sulayman, — In a.h. 967
(1559) Bayazid, son of Sulayman, rebelled and sought
refuge in Persia. He was received with much ceremony
at Tabriz, but by way of precaution his troops were
distributed among the Persian contingents. Sulayman
opened a correspondence for the surrender of his son, and
Tahmasp, with detestable baseness, showed himself but
too ready to sell his guest. Some two years were spent
in arranging terms, but in a.h. 969 (1561) Bayazid and
four of his sons were handed over to the Ottoman
emissaries and were executed. The price paid to Shah
Tahmasp for the betrayal of his guest was 400,000 pieces
of gold.

The Embassies of Anthony Jenkinson to Bokhara and
Persia^ a.d. 1558 -1563. — The intercourse of England
with the rulers of Persia, which has been described in
previous chapters, now reached a new and more important
development.-^ Under the Tudor monarchs our fellow-
countrymen were writing a glorious chapter in the book of
fame in connexion with Arctic exploration, wherein the cross
of St. George showed the way. Among the earliest and
most profitable voyages was the expedition which resulted
in the discovery of the White Sea by Richard Chancellor,
and the lucrative trade with Russia which was thereby
opened up. This intercourse was developed by Anthony

^ Early Voyages and Travels to Russia and Persia, edited by Morgan and Coote
(Hakluyt Society).

250 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Jenkinson, a typical merchant-adventurer of the period.
Appointed in 1557, after the death of Chancellor, to the
post of captain-general of the Muscovy Company's fleet
sailing for Russia, he was undoubtedly eager to carry out
the instructions of his employers, which ran : "That
you use all wayes and meanes possible to learne how
men may passe from Russia either by land or by sea to
Cathaia." As the sequel proves, he learned much.

The Tsar Ivan the Terrible was most favourably im-
pressed by the Englishman, and in a.d. 1559 despatched
him as his ambassador to Bokhara, a remarkable com-
pliment to his personality. During the course of this
journey Jenkinson acquired a place among our greatest
explorers as the first Englishman to descend the Volga
and to visit Khiva and Bokhara. Throughout his travels
he kept a careful diary, and we learn among other things
that at the time of his visit, in a.d. 1559, the Uzbeg
Prince Abdulla was about to start on the first of his great
raids into Khorasan. Jenkinson returned safely to Russia,
having not only accomplished his mission with success,
but having at the same time acquired much informa-
tion as to the route to Cathay. Later he returned to
England.

In A.D. 1 56 1 he again headed an expedition with
instructions to attempt to open up commercial relations
with Persia across Russia, a truly daring scheme in view
of the fact that the latter power had only just acquired
control of the Volga. But the route via Hormuz was
out of the question, as not for another half-century was
the English flag to appear in the Persian Gulf, and the
Levant trade was monopolized by Genoa and Venice.
Consequently, as Ivan waived all customs duties, the
venture seemed good enough to tempt the lion-hearted
Englishmen of the period.

Jenkinson, to whom the Tsar " committed matter of
importance and charge, to be done when I should arrive
in those countries," left Moscow with the Ambassador of
Persia, and travelling down the Volga, reached Astrakhan
without incident. He encountered a terrible storm on
the Caspian Sea, which justified its bad reputation im-

Lxii RISE OF THE SAFAVI DYNASTY 251

mortalized in the odes of Horace.^ The Englishman
landed a little to the north of Baku, and, proceeding to
Shamakha, was fortunate enough to gain the friendship of
Abdulla Khan, Prince of Shirwan^who is described as "being
a prince of meane stature, and of a fierce countenance,
richly apparelled with long garments of silke, and cloth of
golde, imbroidered with pearles and stone : upon his
head was a tolipane (turban) with a sharpe end standing
upwards halfe a yard long . . . and on the left side of
his tolipane stood a plume of fethers, set in a trunke of
gold richly inameled,"

Taking leave of Abdulla Khan, Jenkinson travelled
to Ardebil, crossing the Kur and passing through "a
fruitful! countrey, inhabited with pasturing people, which
dwell in the Summer season upon mountaines, and in
Winter they remooue into valleys without resorting to
townes or any other habitation." At Ardebil he described
the " sumptuous sepulchre in a faire Meskit^'' or mosque,
of Ismail, the founder of the dynasty, but no details as
to his onward journey are given, except that he travelled
across mountains destitute of wood, and in the end reached
Kazvin, which was then the capital.

The Englishman's chances of success were much
diminished by the fact that Tahmasp was at this time
making arrangements to sell Bayazid to the Sultan.
Jenkinson, however, obtained an audience and "thus
comming before his maiestie with such reuerence as I
thought meete to bee vsed, I deliuered the Queenes
maiesties letters with my present, which he accepting,
demaunded of me of what countrey of Franks I was,
and what affaires I had there to do : vnto whom I
answered that I was of the famous Citie of London within
the noble realme of England, and that I was sent thither
from the most excellent and gracious soueraigne Ladie
Elizabeth^ Queene of the sayd Realme, for to treate of
friendship, and free passage of our merchants and people,

^ Non semper imbres nubibus hispidos
Manant in agros, aut mare Caspium
Vexant inaequales procellae
Usque . . .

Book II, Ode ix.

252 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

to repair and traffique within his dominions, for to bring in
our commodities, and to carry away theirs, to the honour of
both princes, the mutual commoditie of both realmes, and
wealth of the subiects, with other words here omitted."

Unfortunately the inevitable question of religion was
brought up, and Jenkinson, confessing that he was a
Christian, was told " Oh thou vnbeleeuer, we haue no
neede to haue friendship with the vnbeleeuers, and so
willed mee to depart. I being glad thereof did reuerence
and went my way, being accompanied with many of his
gentlemen and others, and after mee followed a man with
a Basanet of sand, sifting all the way that I had gone
within the said pallace, euen from the sayd Sophies sight
vnto the court gate." It would have gone hard with
the Englishman — for the Shah would probably have sent
his head as a gift to the Sultan — if AbduUa Khan had
not saved his life by writing " that it should not stand
with his majestie's honour to doe me any harme or
displeasure, but rather to give mee good entertainment
. . . and that if hee vsed me euill, there would few
strangers resort into his countrey." Tahmasp was ulti-
mately persuaded by the arguments of AbduUa Khan,
and Jenkinson returned to Shirwan, where he was treated
with extreme kindness. Good fortune attended this great
pioneer throughout, and he reached Moscow in safety with
all his goods, including raw silk and dye-stuffs for the
Muscovy Company, and silk brocades and precious stones
for the Tsar.

The trade thus opened seemed at one time likely to
be successful ; but the anarchy into which Persia fell and
the losses through storms and pirates on the Caspian Sea
convinced the English Company, after the sixth voyage,
that the risks were too great. Consequently in a.d. 1581
the attempt was abandoned. But the failure of the
enterprise was not inglorious. It trained the Englishmen
who took part in it to the hardihood and valour charac-
teristic of " the spacious times of great Elizabeth," and
it enlarged the outlook of the English nation. This is
seen from the following lines in Marlowe's Tamburlaine^
which evidently allude to Jenkinson's exploit :

Lxn RISE OF THE SAFAVI DYNASTY 253

And Christian merchants, that with Russian stems
Plow up huge furrowes in the Caspian sea,
Shall vaile to us, as Lords of al the Lake.

Milton, too, must have obtained through these
pioneers the information on which he based the lines
quoted as a heading to this chapter.

An Account of Persia by D' Alessandria a.d. 1571. — The
later years of Tahmasp were comparatively uneventful.
Uzbeg raids on Khorasan would not trouble him greatly
at Kazvin, but a terrible famine which occurred in a.h.
957 (^57^)> ^^d ^ visitation of plague which followed,
probably affected the entire country.

Not long before his death the Shah was visited by
Vincentio A. D' Alessandri,^ Ambassador of Venice, who
was sent to the Court at Kazvin to persuade Tahmasp
that the Turks were about to seize Cyprus from the
Venetians, and that unless he attacked the* Ottoman
dominions he would be the next victim. The mission
failed in its object, but thanks to it we have an interesting
description of Persia written by a competent observer.
D' Alessandri states among other things that the route
from Hormuz was entirely neglected and that the main
route via Aleppo was deserted. He also mentions Anthony
Jenkinson. His account of Tahmasp is far from flattering.
He describes him as " of middling stature, well formed
in person and features, although dark, of thick lips and
grisly beard.'' He refers to the fact that he had not left
his palace for eleven years and that the people were in
consequence unable to present petitions to him. The
roads are declared to be unsafe and the judges venal.
Altogether the impression conveyed is that the country
was utterly neglected by the monarch, who cared only
for money and women.

Ismail IL^ a.h. 984 (1576). — It was the custom among
the Safavi monarchs to commit their sons to the guardian-
ship of the great tribal chiefs, and consequently, upon
the death of Tahmasp, who was poisoned by the mother
of one of them, Haydar by name, furious rivalries were
unchained. Haydar was on the spot and was the nominee

1 Tra'veh of Venetians in Persia, p. 225 fF.

2 54 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

of the Ustajlu tribe, but he was killed before his
supporters could rally round him. Ultimately Ismail, the
fourth son, who had been imprisoned by his father for
twenty -five years, was placed on the throne. After
establishing his power the new Shah, who was probably
brutalized by his long imprisonment, put to death or
blinded all the princes of the blood who were at Kazvin,
to the number of eight, and also seventeen leading noble-
men. Mohamed Mirza^ known as Khudabanda, the
eldest son of Tahmasp, being almost blind, was not re-
garded as a candidate for the throne. He had, however,
been ruling Khorasan, and being afterwards appointed to
Fars, left an infant son. Abbas, as nominal Governor of
Khorasan, under the guardianship of Ali Kuli Khan, Chief
of the Shamlu. Ismail sent messengers with instructions
to put to death both Khudabanda and the infant Abbas,
but just before the cruel order was carried out news
arrived of the decease of the monarch from drink and
an overdose of opium. According to another account, he
was assassinated by fifteen men disguised as women.

Mohamed Khudabanda^ a.h. 985 (1578). — The death
of Ismail not only saved Mohamed' s life, but secured
him the throne of Persia. But he proved unfit to cope
with state affairs, and his authority was challenged before
long by the Amirs of Khorasan, who proclaimed Abbas
as Shah. During the civil war which ensued the weak
monarch abandoned his Vizier, Mirza Sulayman, to the
Kizilbash chiefs, who put him to death. After this his
position was enfeebled by the impolitic execution of the
Chief of the Takalu tribe, and when the Turks invaded
Persia he was deserted by the great feudatories. The
valour of Hamza Mirza^ the heir-apparent, alone illumi-
nated this dark period. His first exploit was the annihi-
lation of the Turkish advance guard near Khoi. A second
force of Turks was despatched to avenge this disaster, but
they too were cut to pieces. In spite of these brilliant
Persian successes, the invading army advanced on Tabriz,
which was taken and sacked owing to the defection of
the Kizilbash chiefs. But Hamza Mirza had still to be
reckoned with, and in an attack which he made in a.h.

Lxii RISE OF THE SAP AVI DYNASTY 255

993 (15^5) he killed 20,000 of the enemy. Yet again,
a month later, he inflicted crushing losses on the invaders ;
but shortly afterwards he himself suffered defeat because
3000 of his men were driven into a marsh. Not a whit
discouraged, the intrepid Persian raided across the Aras
and ravaged Salmas and Erivan. But internal divisions
prevented these victories from bearing fruit, and Tabriz
remained in the hands of the Turks. A plot contrived
by the tribesmen to exclude Hamza Mirza from the
throne proved futile, but the gallant Prince was assassinated
by one of his favourites in a.h. 995 (1587), and with his
death all immediate hope of expelling the invaders dis-
appeared.

Holograph Document signed by Shah Abbas in a.h. 1012 (1603).
(Through the courtesy of Abdul Majid Belshah.)

[Purport— Shah Abbas acknowledges his indebtedness for the book (on which he had written
these lines) to Baha-u-Din.]

CHAPTER LXIII

SHAH ABBAS THE GREAT

His Person then Is such, as well-vnderstanding Nature would fit for the end
proposed for his being, excellently well shaped, of a most well proportioned
stature, strong, and active ; his colour somewhat inclined to a man-liKe black-
nesse, is also more blacke by the Sunnes burning : his furniture of his mind
infinitely royall, wise, valiant, liberall, temperate, mercifull, and an exceedmg
lover of Justice. — Sir Anthony Sherley on Shah Abbas.

Shak Jbbas L^A,H. 985-1038 (1587-1629). — The six-
teenth century was a wonderful epoch both in Europe and

1 in Asia, producing great rulers with prolific bounty. Of
these, Charles V. and Elizabeth in Europe can be matched,
if not overmatched, by Sulayman of Turkey, Akbar the

J Moghul Emperor, and the subject of the present chapter.
And yet how unpromising were the prospects of the infant
destined to be famous as Shah Abbas the Great ! Left
in Khorasan as its purely nominal Governor, he passed
through boyhood a mere puppet in the hands of rival
chieftains. His guardian, Ali Kuli Khan, Chief of the
Shamlu, had united with Murshid Kuli Khan, chief of
the Ustajlu, nominally to protect his rights, but actually
for personal aggrandisement. As was to be expected, the

256

cHAP.Lxiii SHAH ABBAS THE GREAT 257

two nobles quarrelled and a fight ensued, in which Ali
Kuli Khan, who was accompanied into the field by the
young monarch, was worsted. The horse of Abbas was
shot and he himself ran considerable risk, but the victors,
stopping the pursuit, threw themselves at his feet, and
Murshid Kuli Khan became his guardian by force of arms.

As we have already seen, Khorasan had proclaimed
Abbas as Shah and Khudabanda had been unable to enforce
his authority in the province. Shordy afterwards, the
confusion consequent upon the death of Hamza Mirza
encouraged Murshid Kuli Khan to advance on Kazvin,
which he occupied. Khudabanda was then suppressing a
rebellion in Fars, and advantage was taken of his absence
to issue a proclamation that the houses and lands owned
by his soldiers at Kazvin would be confiscated unless the
owners returned speedily to claim them. This proclama-
tion destroyed the power of Khudabanda, whose army
deserted him to return to the capital ; and from this date
— Khudabanda either dying a natural death or being assas-
sinated — there was no opposition in Persia to the claims of
Shah Abbas, who shordy afterwards killed Murshid Kuli
Khan and thereby secured the reins of power.

The Turkish Invasion^ a.h. 995-998 (1587-1590). —
The death of Hamza Mirza and the domestic troubles
that weakened Persia were turned to full account by the
aggressive generals of the Sultan. An armistice had been
negotiated by Khudabanda, but hostilities were speedily
resumed as the cession of the province of Karabagh was
demanded and refused. In a.h. 995 (1587) a batde was
fought near Baghdad, in which Farhad Pasha surprised
and defeated a Persian army 15,000 strong, after a
desperate struggle lasting three days. As a sequel to the
capture of Tabriz and to this success, Turkey annexed
the western provinces of Persia, including much of Irak
Ajami, Luristan, and Khuzistan. In a.h. 996 (1588)
Farhad Pasha, uniting his forces with those of the
Governor of Shirwan, invaded Karabagh and captured
Ganja, which he strengthened by means of a hastily erected
wall and a garrison of 3000 men.

The position of Shah Abbas was one of great weakness

VOL. It s

258 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

owing to the Uzbeg invasions, and he wisely decided to
make peace with the Turks in order that he might con-
centrate his entire resources against the Uzbegs. After
long negotiations, conducted by Haydar Mirza, son of
Hamza Mirza, peace was concluded in a.h. 998 (1590)
by the cession of Tabriz, Shirwan with its ports on the
Caspian, Georgia, and Luristan to the Turks.

The Uzbeg Invasions, — The Uzbeg kingdom reached
its zenith under AbduUa IL, who was contemporary with
Shah Abbas, and who extended the boundaries of his
empire in every direction. To the east Farghana, Kash-
gar, and Khotan, and to the south Balkh, Tokharistan,
and Badakshan became his frontier provinces. On the
western side Astrabad was surprised, and the Prince of
Gilan, an ally of the Sultan of Turkey, was driven head-
long from his country. Very early in his reign Abbas
was threatened with the loss of Herat, which ultimately
fell after a siege of nine months. The sacred city of
Meshed was next invested. The young Shah marched
to its relief, but illness delayed him, and the city was
taken and sacked, its inhabitants were massacred, and
the treasures belonging to the Shrine were carried ofF.
Nishapur, Sabzawar, Isfarayin, Tun, Tabas, and other
cities in Khorasan suffered a like fate. The province was
indeed in a pitiable state until, in a.h. 1006 (1597), a
great victory was gained over the elusive foe in the
neighbourhood of Herat, after which the annual raids of
the Uzbegs ceased for many years to come.

To protect this exposed frontier Abbas transported
from Kurdistan some thousands of Kurds, with their
families and flocks, and settled them to the north of
Khorasan where they acted as wardens of the marches.
The newcomers were unable to hold their own in the
fertile lands to the north of the ranges described in
Chapter I. but in the valley of the Atrek they dispossessed
the Geraili Turks and made good their position. To-day
they are a flourishing community, still speaking their own
language, and generally ruled by their tribal chiefs.

The Temporary Abdication, a.h. iooo (1591). — Belief
in astrology caused the monarch at this period to vacate

A KURDISH \ILLAGK.
(From Wigrams Criuiie of Ma'iki'id.\

I 'f

Lxiii SHAH ABBAS THE GREAT 259

the throne, his astrologers having predicted that serious
danger threatened its occupant. A certain Yusuf, probably
a Christian and certainly not a Moslem, was crowned, and
for three days was surrounded with royal state. On the
fourth day he was put to death ; and, the decree of the
stars being thus fulfilled. Abbas reascended the throne on a
propitious day with promises from the astrologers of a
long and glorious reign. The victory over the Uzbegs
mentioned above was gained shortly after this extra-
ordinary incident.

The Arrival in Persia of the Sherley Brothers^ a.d. 1598.
— The gallant attempt of Jenkinson in the reign of
Tahmasp to open up trade with Persia across Russia was
an isolated episode which left no mark on the country, and
deserves mention mainly on account of the courage and
perseverance displayed. Under Shah Abbas, Englishmen
first appear on the scene as gentlemen-adventurers,^ and
their influence on Persian policy was considerable. Sir
Anthony Sherley, already distinguished as the leader of an
expedition to the Spanish Main, and his brother Sir Robert
Sherley, accompanied by twenty - six followers, reached
Kazvin in 1598, and upon the return of Shah Abbas from
his victory over the Uzbegs the two brothers presented
themselves as English knights who had heard of the fame
of the Persian monarch and desired to enter his service.
Knowledge of the customs of Persia was shown by their
making a splendid gift " of six pair of pendants of exceed-
ing fair emeralds : two other jewels of topazes ; a cup of
three pieces set in gold, and enamelled ; a salt, a fair ewer
of crystal, covered with a kind of cut work of silver, and
gilt, the shape of a dragon."

The young Shah, who was evidently flattered and
pleased with the leader of the party, gave him in return
royal gifts, including " forty horses all furnished, two with
exceeding rich saddles, plated with gold, and set with
rubies and turquoises.*' To these he added mules, camels,
tents, and a sum of money.

The Reorganization of the Persian Army, — The force at

^ This section is based on Purchas His Pilgrimes (1625 ed.), vol. ii. ; also on TAe
Three Brothers, or The Tra-vels and Adventures of Sir Anthony y Sir Robert ^ and Sir Thomas
Sherley, 1828.

26o HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

the disposal of the Shah originally consisted of some sixty
thousand Kizilbash horsemen, who would obey none but
their chiefs. Consequently he was unable to give a com-
mand to any one outside the Kizilbash themselves, in
whose hands the entire power lay. To meet this difficulty
he halved the numbers of the tribal contingents and
organized a body of ten thousand cavalry and twelve
thousand infantry, paid and officered by the crown.

Allah Verdi -^ Beg, the celebrated Commander-in-
Chief, was quick to see the advantages of the Sherley
mission, which included among its members a cannon-
founder. With his assistance and thanks to the Sherleys,
batteries of artillery were formed, as well as regiments of
regular infantry. Indeed, mainly through the initiative
of our fellow-countrymen, a revolution was effected in
the military organization, and in place of a feudal force of
horsemen Persia soon possessed an army fit to meet that
of Turkey in the field. To quote from the old English
book of travels : " The mightie Ottoman, terror of the
Christian world, quaketh of a Sherly feuer, and gives
hopes of approaching fates : the prevailing Persian hath
learned Sherleian arts of war ; and he which before knew
not the use of ordnance, hath now five hundred pieces
of brasse, and sixty thousand musketiers : so that they,
which at hand with the sword were before dreadful to the
Turkes, now also, in remoter blows and sulfurian arts,
are growne terrible."

The Formation of the Shah Savan Tribe. — Yet another
counterpoise to the turbulent Kizilbash was obtained by
inviting members of all tribes to enrol themselves as
Shah Savan, or " Friends of the Shah." This stroke of
policy was entirely successful ; thousands of men joined
the new tribe, and the Shah was released from dependance
on the Kizilbash. The tribe remains powerful at the
present day and inhabits a wide stretch of country between
Tabriz and Ardebil and south-east as far as Kazvin.

Sir Anthony Sherley as Ambassador, — The great question
agitating the Persian Court was whether war should be

^ Malcolm terms this well-known nobleman AH Verdi, but Allah Verdi, meaning
" God gave " in Turkish, is correct. His curious death is mentioned in The Glory of
the Shia Worlds p. 266.

Lxiii SHAH ABBAS THE GREAT 261

declared against Turkey, by whose troops, it must be
recollected, Tabriz was still garrisoned. Sherley was
anxious to add to his services by visiting the Courts of
Europe in order to invite their co-operation against the
common foe, and Abbas, whose affection for the English-
man was deep and sincere, at once agreed to the proposal.
As Malcolm states, the credentials given to Sherley were
" perhaps the most singular by which any public repre-
sentative was ever accredited," and to prove this it is
sufficient to quote the following passage : " And al you
princes y beleeue in Jesus Christ, know you, that he hath
made friendship betweene you and me ; which desire we
had also heretofore graunted, but there was none that
came to make the way, and to remoue the uaile that was
betwene us and you, but onley this gentleman ; who as
he came of his owne free will, so also oppon his desire, 1
haue sent with him a chiefe man of mine. The enter-
tainment which that principall gentleman hath had with
me, is, that daylie, whils't he hath bin in thiese partes, we
haue eaten togither of one dysh, and drunke of one cup,
like two breethren. Therefore, when this gentleman
comes unto you Christian princes, you shall credite him
in whatsoeuer you shall demaunde, or he shall say, as
mine owne person."

Most favourable privileges were granted to Christian
merchants who might desire to trade with Persia. No
Governor might interfere with them, no customs could
be enforced on them, and no " religious men " might
disturb them. In short, everything possible was done
to make the stranger feel that he was welcome in Persia.
This friendly spirit is still noticeable in the twentieth
century, and makes the lot of Europeans much pleasanter
than in other parts of Asia, where, if tolerated, they are
disliked.

The embassy of Sir Anthony Sherley aroused deep
jealousy in Moscow, where the policy of the Government
had entirely changed since the days of Jenkinson. Not
only was the Persian companion of the English knight
treated as Ambassador, but he himself was thrown into
prison for some time. In the end he obtained his release

262 HISTORY OF PERSIA

CHAP.

and proceeded to the Court of the Emperor, where he
was received with the utmost distinction and honour, as
it was realized that a successful campaign by Shah Abbas
would react most favourably on the situation in Europe.

From the Court at Prague the English knight made
his way to Rome, whence the Persian nobleman, who had
quarrelled with him, returned to Persia. Sir Anthony
Sherley finally settled in Spain, where he entered the
service of the King, who sent him on an embassy to
Morocco. He apparently severed his connexion with
Persia, and died in the land of his adoption.

The Successful Campaigns against Turkey^ a.h. ioii-
1036 (1602-1627). — It was not until fifteen years after
his accession to the throne that Shah Abbas felt himself
strong enough to cross swords with the Sultan and to
attempt to regain the Persian provinces occupied by the
great Sunni power. The actual outbreak of hostilities
was due to an attack on Salmas by the Turkish garrison
of Azerbaijan. Shah Abbas, having already decided to
break the peace, marched rapidly from Isfahan, and after
defeating the Turkish army besieged Tabriz ; the city
surrendered on 21st October 1603, and once again, after
eighteen years, formed part of the Persian empire. The
Shah then marched on Erivan, which he took after a six
months* siege ; he also occupied Shirwan and Kars.
Meanwhile Sultan Mohamed III. had died, and upon
the accession of the youthful Ahmad large Turkish forces
were organized for a Persian campaign.

The two armies met in the vicinity of Lake Urumia.
The Turks were one hundred thousand strong and the
Persians only sixty-two thousand : but the former had
lost much of their old discipline and valour, whereas the
latter were disciplined and for the first time supported by
artillery. The Turks advanced in their usual formation
of a column of cavalry supported by infantry and artillery,
hoping no doubt to draw the enemy's horsemen within
range of their guns. Shah Abbas upset this plan of battle
by detaching Allah Verdi with instructions to execute a
wide turning movement on to the rear of the enemy and
then to open out his force and create the impression that

Lxiii SHAH ABBAS THE GREAT 263

his was the main body. The manoeuvre succeeded admir-
ably, and a large body of Turks was detached to the rear
to meet, as they supposed, the Persian army. The result
was confusion ; and a charge, in which Sir Robert Sherley
was wounded in three places, converted this into a panic
and rout. The Turkish leaders fought bravely to retrieve
the fortunes of the day, but in vain, and more than twenty
thousand heads were laid at the feet of the Shah, who by
this decisive battle freed his country and dynasty from
the stigma of inferiority to the Turks. The fruits of the
victory were great. Not only did Azerbaijan, Kurdistan,
Baghdad, Mosul, and Diarbekir fall to the Persians, but
their religious feelings were deeply gratified by the re-
covery of Kerbela, Najaf, and other sacred centres.

As may be supposed religious polemics raged during
these campaigns. An utterance by the Turkish Mufti
concluded thus : " I hope also from the divine Majesty,
that in the Day of Judgment he will make you serve
instead of Asses to the Jews, that that miserable Nation
which is the Contempt of the World, may mount and
trot with you to Hell." The Persian reply was still
more insulting, but is too coarse to print. After long
negotiations, peace was concluded in 1 6 1 2, Turkey agree-
ing to recognize the frontiers as they were in the reign of
Selim. By this act the Porte renounced all claim to the
conquests of Murad and Mohamed TIL Shah Abbas, on
his side, agreed to give the Sultan two hundred loads of
silk annually.

This treaty was not long observed. The Shah did
not pay the stipulated silk, and he sent an expedition
against Georgia, which was held to be in the Ottoman
sphere of influence. In 1616 a powerful Turkish army
set out from Aleppo, and, being joined by contingents in
Asia Minor, laid siege to Erivan and other cities. This
campaign ended in disaster ; for Erivan was not taken
and the Turkish army lost heavily from the cold while
retiring. Two years later an attempt was made on Tabriz
by means of a forced march, but failed because the
invaders fell into an ambuscade laid by the Governor of
Tabriz and suffered severe losses in consequence. Their

264 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

main army, however, advanced, and Shah Abbas was
induced to open up negotiations for peace. In a.h. 1027
(16 1 8) the terms agreed to in the previous treaty were
accepted, except that Shah Abbas bound himself to a gift
of one hundred loads of silk, instead of the two hundred
previously agreed upon.

Seven years later a Turkish army besieged Baghdad
with only four light fieldpieces. The siege dragged on
for six months, and Shah Abbas then came to the rescue.
After fierce fighting, with heavy losses on both sides,
a mutiny forced the Turkish leaders to retreat, and
thousands of their men died from starvation.

These campaigns were the first in which the advantage
lay distinctly with Persia. Although the Sultan was
generally the aggressor, the Shah's troops proved that
they could at least hold their own against the enemy.

The Embassies of Sir Robert Sherley. — Sir Robert Sherley
was appointed Master-General of the Persian army, and
while holding this position won great distinction in the
Turkish wars. The Shah bestowed many tokens of his
favour on the gallant Englishman, among them being
a grant of bread for sixty years ! In spite of the failure
of Anthony's mission. Abbas determined to despatch
Robert Sherley on an embassy to the European powers.
He left Persia in 1 609 and visited Poland, Germany, and
Rome. In 161 1 he reached England, where he was well
received by the King, but the object of his mission, which
was to open up direct trade relations between Persia and
England, met with strong opposition from the Levant
merchants and was not at the time attained. Sherley
remained in England a year and returned to Persia by
way of India in an English ship.

In 1623 Sir Robert Sherley came to England on
a second mission. On this occasion his position was
weakened by the arrival of another ambassador from Shah
Abbas in the person of a certain Nakd Ali Beg,^ who,
upon meeting Sherley, assaulted him. The English
knight finally returned to Persia with Sir Dodmore

^ We learn from the Court Minutes of the East India Company that Nakd Ali Beg
before his departure was presented with his portrait "exactly and curiously drawn by
Mr. Greenburie." The artist also painted a replica which is hung in the India Office.

Lxiii SHAH ABBAS THE GREAT 265

Cotton, to whom we shall return in the next chapter.
Nakd Ali Khan, who sailed in the same fleet, but was not
allowed to land at the same time as Sherley, poisoned
himself on the voyage to India.

An allusion to the pensions granted to the Sherleys,
who were among the greatest travellers of the age, is
probably to be found in Twelfth Night^ where Fabian
says, " I will not give my part of this sport for a pension
of thousands to be paid from the Sophy."

The Administrative Genius of Shah Abbas, — The fame
of Shah Abbas does not rest on his military exploits alone :
it is also founded on his genius for administration and
especially upon the thoroughness with which he took in
hand the improvement of communications throughout the
Empire. He built caravanserais and bridges in such
numbers that every ancient work is now creditec^ to him.
Even in muddy Gilan and Mazanderan his famous Sang
Farsh^ or " Stone Carpet,** a causeway which traverses
the Caspian provinces from east to west, is still used,
although to judge from what I saw of it near Astrabad
it badly needs repair.

The most striking act of his administration was the
selection of Isfahan as his capital. There, in the centre
of the Empire, on almost the only river of the plateau,
a splendid new city grew up, approached by beautiful
double avenues of oriental planes and stately bridges,
which prepared travellers for the superb buildings that
are still preserved to us. Thanks to the number of these
travellers, many of whom wrote books, the splendours
of the Safavi dynasty have been described more fully than
any other phase of Persian history. To quote Lord
Curzon, " Pietro della Valle, Herbert, Olearius, Tavernier,
Chardin, Sanson, Daulier-Deslandes, Kaempfer, and Le
Brun successively shed the light of an acute and instructed
scrutiny upon the scene, and have added to the respective
literatures of Italy, Great Britain, Germany, France, and
Holland." 2

The Great Shah realized the harm of fanaticism and

^ This play was written in 1601-z, by which date news would have reached England
of the splendid reception of the English knights by Shah Abbas.
2 Op. cit. vol. ii. p. 22.

■ '^ "— " i—^^i—

266 HISTORY OF PERSIA

CHAI>

seclusion, and employed the European and his arts to
strengthen his country. The breadth of his outlook is
shown by his behaviour towards the Armenians. Instead
of treating these Christian captives as slaves, he transported
five thousand families with all their possessions from
Julfa on the Aras to a new Julfa close to Isfahan. There
they speedily took root and prospered and helped to open
up trade with other countries. So flourishing was the
Christian centre thus founded that, until quite recently,
all Europeans, whether missionaries or merchants, who
had business at Isfahan, took up their residence in this
Armenian village. An attempt was made to establish a
second colony in M azanderan, but this proved a complete
failure in consequence of the malarious climate, which
killed off the Armenians by hundreds.

His Encouragement of Pilgrimages.-^— \n nothing was
the practical genius of Shah Abbas more clearly shown
than in the difficult task of consolidating the various
tribes and peoples that dwelt in Iran. This he effected
in great measure by encouraging the idea that Meshed
was the national centre for pilgrimage and the special
glory of the Shia world. In the belief that practice is
better than precept, he made pilgrimages to the shrine of
the Imam Riza, and on one occasion he actually walked
the entire distance of eight hundred miles from Isfahan.
He also performed the menial task of trimming the
thousand candles which illuminated the sacred courts,
and the incident inspired the following verses by
Shaykh Bahai :

The angels from the high heavens gather like motliH
O'er the candles lighted in tliis Paradlnc-likc tomb :
O trimmer, manipulate the scissors with care,
Or else thou maycst clip the wings of Gabriel.

Among the gifts of this monarch to the Shrine was
his bow, which bears his name — a priceless treasure, little
valued by Persians. He also visited Najaf, where he
swept out the tomb of his ancestor Ali, and in every
way he stimulated and encouraged religious feeling,
more especially as expressed in pilgrimages. The fact

Lxiii SHAH ABBAS THE GREAT 267

that he drank wine freely was but a trifling hindrance
to his reputation for exemplary piety, Moslem ethics in
such matters being diflFerent from those of the West.^

His Domestic Life, — It is with revulsion that we are
forced to turn from the greatness of the Shah's public
achievements to the brutalities of his domestic life. Yet
even here some allowance should be made for the position
of a sovereign of Persia whose ill-wishers would certainly
endeavour to make his heir the instrument of their
policy.

Briefly, the facts to be recorded are these. Abbas
had four sons, and when they grew up he became jealous
of their popularity and regarded their advisers as his
enemies. Whether he had good reason for his fears we
do not know. Safi Mirza^ his eldest son, was the first
victim- The Shah was led to believe that this Prince,
who possessed the attractive qualities of valour and
liberality, was plotting against him to avenge the death
of a favourite who had been executed. In order that he
might escape the odium of putting his popular son to
death, he apparently arranged for him to be stabbed by
a certain Behbud Khan, who alleged that he was avenging
a private injury. The assassin took bast^ or sanctuary,^
in the Shah's stable, and was not only pardoned but
promoted to high oflice. But remorse preyed on the
father's mind and, seeking in further cruelty a strange
alleviation for his suff^erings, he ordered the wretched
Behbud Khan to bring him the head of his own son.
The order was obeyed and the following dialogue ensued :
" How dost thou feel ? " asked the Shah. " I am miser-
able," was the reply. "Thou shouldst be happy," was the
Shah's rejoinder, "for thou art ambitious, and now in
thy feelings thou art the peer of thy Sovereign." The
second son, Tahmasp Mirza^ fortunately died a natural
death ; but shortly after the murder of Safi Mirza^ the
two remaining sons became objects of their father's dread-
ful jealousy. Khudabanda, the elder, had acquired much

^ In The Glory of the Shia World, p. 139, the Persian point of view is given.
2 In Persia, Legations, Consulates, Shrines, Telegraph Offices, and Stables are
regarded as sanctuary. The bast in the British Legation is referred to in Chapter

Lxxxn.

268 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, lxih

credit in an expedition to Arabia, and owing to his
" affability, bounty, loyalty, courage and experience in
arms, at home and abroad," ^ was hailed as a promising
successor to the throne. The Shah showed his displeasure
by putting to death the Prince's tutor. Khudabanda
hastened to court and expostulated wildly, going so far
as to draw his sword. Thereupon his father had him
blinded. The Prince became half insane, and in order
to avenge himself killed Fatima, a daughter on whom
the Shah doted, and then himself took poison. The eyes
of the fourth son also were put out, and by this act Shah
Abbas cut off the last of his sons from the throne.

His Death and Character, — These acts of cruelty
marked the closing days of Abbas, who, at the age
of seventy, died of a painful disease at his favourite
palace in Mazanderan, after a long and glorious reign
of forty-two years. In reviewing the character of a
monarch it is proper to give due weight to the judgment
of his own people, and it may at once be said that no
sovereign who ever ruled in Persia is so much respected
or beloved as Shah Abbas the Great. His portrait shows
a very handsome man, with fine, clean-cut features, keen
eyes, and large moustaches. Throughout his life he was
noted for courage, activity, and endurance of fatigue. His
ideas were far in advance of those current in his time, and
his general outlook was eminently wide and sane, although
his readiness to kill on the slightest pretext was deplor-
able. I prefer to think that the awful domestic tragedies
which darkened the close of his reign were not purely
wanton, but had at least some partial justification ; for
a prince so great, and in the main so just, was not the
man to put his sons to death without what he believed
to be good reasons. This account of the greatest of
Persia's sovereigns since the Moslem conquest may be
fittingly concluded with Chardin's dictum, "When this
great Prince ceased to live, Persia ceased to prosper.'*

* Herbert, op, at. p. 178, details these tragedies with many rhetorical flourishes,

Shah Sulayman.

CHAPTER LXIV

THE STRUGGLE FOR ASCENDANCY IN THE PERSIAN GULF

High on a throne of royal state, which far •

Outshone the wealth of Ormus and of Ind,
Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand
Showers on her Kings barbaric pearl and gold,
Satan exalted sat. ^

Paradise Lost, Book II., line i.

The Effect on History of Rounding the Cape of Good
Hope. — One of the most important events in history is
the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope by Bartholomew
Dias in a.d. 1487-85^ and the subsequent opening up of
direct sea-borne trade between Europe and India. Until
this feat was accomplished, Europe was obliged to purchase
spices and other Eastern products from Moslem merchants,
whose rulers drew vast revenues directly from the customs
they levied and indirecdy from the prosperity which this
trade conferred. The establishment of direct sea inter-
course with Europe changed all this. In the two arteries
of trade, through the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, the
flow of commerce ceased. From that event dates the
falling off in wealth and power of the Moslem states of
Turkey and Egypt, although some generations were yet
to pass before the sea trade was fully established and its

1 For this date 'vide "The Voyages of Diago Cao and Bartholomew Dias, 1482-8,"
by Ravenstein, in Journal R.G.S.^ vol. xvi. pp. 625-55. I^ the Museum at Capetown
I have seen a fragment of the padrone erected by the great explorer at Angra Pequena.
The other fragments are at Lisbon.

269

270 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

results became plainly visible. This splendid service to
Christendom was entirely the work of Portugal, which was
the first European power to appear in the Persian Gulf.^

The Importance of Hormuz. — :The port of Hormuz, the
Ormus of Milton, mentioned by Marco Polo (see Chapter
LVII.), and situated some six miles to the south-west of
Minab, was of great commercial importance. Not long
after the return journey of the Venetian the emporium
was bodily transferred to the neighbouring island of Jerun
for greater security, retaining there its old name, and it
flourished amazingly for two centuries under Arab rulers,
whose dominions also included Maskat and other posses-
sions. The following description of the island by Pedro
Teixeira, who visited it in a.d. 1587, deserves to be
quoted : " This Isle of Jerun was of old volcanic, for
which reason it remains so rugged as to amaze the explorer
of its interior. It has a lofty range of hills running east
and west from the sea to sea. From the foot of this to
the northern promontory, whereon stands the fortified
city, there is a less rugged plain. But beyond the main
range there is nothing but lesser ranges, separate hills, and
a rugged wilderness.'' ^ Teixeira goes on to state that there
was no fresh water in the island except rain-water collected
in cisterns. It seems extraordinary that a city should
have flourished in spite of such drawbacks, but the testi-
mony on the subject is unanimous. For example, in
A.D. 1442, Abdur Razzak, whose description of the sea
has been quoted in Chapter II., states that Hormuz, which
" is a port situated in the middle of the sea, has not its
equal on the surface of the globe." In a.d. i 504 Ludovico
di Varthema, whose travels have been published by the
Hakluyt Society, also refers to it as " the noble city ot
Ormuz, which is extremely beautiful." The description
is borne out by the Persian proverb : " If the world were
a ring, Hormuz would be the jewel of that ring."

The First Portuguese Expedition against Hormuz^ a.d.
1507. — Greatest among the great Portuguese captains

* ykle White way's Rise of the Portuguese Ponver in India.

^ Tra-vels of Pedro Texeira, p. 164. Ed. by Sinclair and Ferguson for the Hakluyt
Society. We owe to this traveller a translation of the history of the Kings of Hormuz
and also of Mirkhoijd'? hijtory, referred to in Chapter LXII.

Lxiv STRUGGLE IN THE PERSIAN GULF 271

was Alfonso D' Albuquerque/ who in a.d. 1507 started
from Socotra with a squadron of seven ships to attack
Hormuz. He coasted along Arabia, sacking the ports,
including Maskat. To modern ideas his cruelty was
repulsive, prisoners of both sexes being mutilated with
the object of inspiring fear. Everywhere he was success-
ful, and passing Musandam, which is termed Cape Macinde
in the Commentaries^ he approached Hormuz with flags
flying and artillery ready. The point ,was doubled, and
to the dismay of his captains a large number of ships were
sighted in the harbour, supported by a powerful force
drawn up on shore. D*Albuquerque boldly attacked the
ships, and most of them, deserted by their cowardly crews,
fell into his hands. After this easy success he proceeded
to land his small force, whereupon the boy king submitted
and agreed to pay tribute at the rate of ;^5000 per
annum.

The Persian Demand for Tribute. — A few days after the
ratification of the treaty, the king sent to inform D'Albu-
querque that a representative of Shah Ismail had reached
the shore opposite the island, and had sent to demand the
tribute due to Persia. D'Albuquerque replied that " he
might tell the king that this kingdom of Ormuz belonged
to the King of Portugal, gained by his fleet and his men,
and that he might know of a certainty that if any tribute
should be paid to any other king, except the king D.
Manoel, his lord, he would take the government of the
kingdom and give it to some one who would not be
afraid of the Xeque Ismael. He then sent to the ships
for cannon-balls, guns, matchlocks, and grenades, and told
him to say to the king that he might send all these to
the captain of the Xeque Ismael, for that was the sort of
money wherewith the King of Portugal had ordered his
captain to pay the tribute of that kingdom that was under
his mastery and command." ^ Thus with Shah Ismail
began the connexion between Portugal and Persia, which
terminated in disaster for the invaders a little more than
a century later.

1 Commentaries of Alfonso Dalboquerque, ed. by Birch for the Hakluyt Society.

? Comment ariesy vol. i. p. 145.

272 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

The Failure of the Expedition. — D'AIbuquerque decided
to construct a powerful fort, the foundations of which
were duly laid, but the intrigues of his captains reacted
on the political situation and the work was stopped. A
bombardment and a blockade both failed, and when
three ships of his squadron of seven deserted, there was
no course open to him except to make for Socotra. He
returned to Hormuz later, but not in sufficient strength
to effect anything, and thereafter the island-state resumed
its allegiance to Persia, its king adopting Shia principles
in order to gratify Shah Ismail.

The Final Occupation of Hormuz by the Portuguese^
A.D. 1 515. — Seven years passed, and D'Albuquerque, who
had meanwhile become Viceroy of the Portuguese posses-
sions in India, was able at last to attack Hormuz with a
powerful fleet. He sailed from Goa with twenty-seven
ships, carrying 3000 men and ample supplies. The
local situation had entirely changed. A new puppet
king reigned, and the power was in the hands of the
Persian party, headed by a masterful personality known as
Rais^ or Chief, Hamid. But no open resistance to the
Portuguese was possible, and their demand for permission
to complete the fort was granted. Rais Hamid was
assassinated by the Portuguese when he visited D'Albu-
querque, and the King, freed from his influence, was ready
to obey the victors in all matters.

The building of the fort proceeded throughout the
summer, and when finished it was a splendid piece of
work. Indeed so solid was its construction that when I
visited it some fifteen years ago it was in excellent preser-
vation. To quote from my description : " This grand
old fortress is still practically intact, and is approached by
a massive door, studded with iron spikes. It was protected
in front by a bastion of great strength, flanked by a
second bastion, after which the guard-house was passed.
Beyond this the main lower portion of the fort was visible.
It consisted of a square with a large tank, now empty,
round which were barracks and store-houses, built into
the massive forty-foot wall which has a parapet eighteen
feet wide. A steep rise led to the inner work, in which

Lxiv STRUGGLE IN THE PERSIAN GULF 273

we saw a superb reservoir, an oval forty feet high and
fifty feet long, with a passage encircling it about twenty
feet above the bottom ; it was, however, empty. A final
rise brought us to the summit of the fort, some sixty feet
above the ground level. There, overlooking the ruined
city, was all that was left of a sumptuous palace, while
numerous cannon lying about bore mute witness to the
stormy past." ^

The Beginning of English Maritime Intercourse with the
East. — English intercourse with India may be said to date
from the defeat of the Spanish Armada, which stimulated
our ancestors to an extraordinary degree. Within a year
of the passing of the Spanish peril, a body of English
merchants memorialized Queen Elizabeth, who readily
granted the permission they desired to trade with India.
The pioneer efforts failed but the practicability of the
scheme was proved, and a successful voyage to Bantam
by the first Dutch expedition increased the general interest,
which culminated in the grant of a Charter of Incorpora-
tion to the " Governor and Company of Merchants of
London trading into the East Indies."

The first expedition of the new company started in
A.D. 1 60 1, under the eminent seaman James Lancaster,
and two years later it returned with a rich freight, includ-
ing one million pounds weight of pepper. The vicissitudes
of these early voyages and of the merchants engaged in
them are recorded in Letters received by the East India
Company^ and we learn from them how intercourse was
opened up with Persia.

The First English Attempt to Trade with Persia by Sea^
A.D. 1 6 14. — When the English factors first visited the
Moghul Court, their broad cloth sold well, and a large
quantity was ordered from England. But when this
arrived it had ceased to be a novelty, and as there was
little demand a new market was sorely needed. The
Chief Factor had learned from an Englishman named

^ Ten Thousand Miles, etc., p. 288.

* These volumes have been mainly edited by W. Foster, the gifted Registrar of the
India Office, and the series has been continued in the English Factories in India. Foster
has also edited The Embassy of Sir Thomas Roe to India, which contains an excellent
account of the opening up of trade with Persia, I have also consulted the Calendar of
State Papers, ed. by Noel Sainsbury.

VOL. II T

274 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Steele, who had travelled overland from Aleppo to
India, that in Persia they might feel sure " of the vent
of much cloth, in regard their country is cold, and
that men, women and children are clothed therewith
some five months in the year." He also added that
silk could be purchased 50 per cent cheaper than at
Aleppo.

With admirable initiative, it was therefore decided by
the factors at Surat to send Steele and a factor named
Crouther to Isfahan to obtain a far man or " order '* from
Shah Abbas. They were furnished also with letters to
Sir Robert Sherley, who had recently returned to Persia.
In A.D. 1 6 14 these pioneers of commerce started oiF from
India, and, thanks to Sherley, three identical farmans were
obtained from Shah Abbas, ordering the governors of the
ports to aid any British vessels. One of these was sent
to Jask, which was selected because the Portuguese held
Hormuz.

The Journey of Connock^ a.d. 161 6-1 6 17. — The James
was selected for the venture and Connock was appointed
leader of the expedition. Sailing from Surat he was well
received at Jask and posted ahead to Isfahan. There, to
his disappointment, he learned that the Shah was absent
on the Turkish frontier. Undiscouraged, however, he
persuaded William Robbins, an Englishman who lived
at Isfahan and dealt in jewels, to accompany him to the
royal camp. He was received with much favour by the
Shah, who drank to the health of King James on his
bended knee and issued a most satisfactory /^r;;^^;/. In
return Connock promised to send for peacocks and
turkeys, which were unknown in Persia, and also for
toy dogs, which he terms " little little women's curs.**

The Persian duestion of the Period. — The Persian ques-
tion, from the point of view of the English, was the silk
question. Silk was a royal monopoly, and the Shah was
anxious to export it through the Persian Gulf for two
reasons ; in order to deprive the Turks of the customs
which they levied, and because he hoped for a better
price. Sir Robert Sherley had attempted to persuade
Phillip III. (who, it must be remembered, ruled over

1.XIV STRUGGLE IN THE PERSIAN GULF 275

both Spain and Portugal^) to take the silk, but his
proposals had not been well received ; and in England
the East India merchants had said "the way is long
and dangerous, the trade uncertain, and must quite cut
oiFour traffic with the Turk/'

When Steele reached Isfahan, Sherley had returned to
Persia, and was preparing to start on a second mission
to the Court of Spain. Roe, the English Ambassador at
the Court of the Great Moghul, believing that he was
bound to succeed, was opposed to any further steps
towards utilizing the farman. The factors, however, at
a meeting held at Surat in a.d. 16 16, decided that, owing
to the departure of Sherley (whom they regarded with
mistrust), the state of war existing between Persia and
Turkey, and the necessity of selling their broadcloth,
an attempt to trade should be made, and the*event proved
that they were justified in their decision.

The Spanish Embassy to Persia^ 1618-1619. — While
Sherley was in Madrid on his second mission, the Spanish
government despatched an embassy to Persia headed by
Don Garcia de Silva y Figueroa, who wrote a voluminous
account of his journey. The Ambassador landed at
Hormuz, and travelling via Shiraz and Isfahan reached
the Persian Court at Kazvin. He was well received and
was favourably impressed by the Shah, but in the main
object of his mission, which was to obtain a guarantee for
the security of Hormuz, he was unsuccessful.

The Battle of Jask^ a.d. 1620. — While Connock was
in Persia a strong Portuguese squadron from Hormuz
visited Jask in search of the James^ which had fortunately
returned to Surat. In a.d. 161 8 it was decided to
continue the Persian trade, and the whole fleet assembled
at Surat was despatched to Jask, where the Portuguese
were found ready to intercept the English squadron.
There was a skirmish, followed by a period of inaction ;
but when the English realized that their opponents were
unwilling to attack, they bore down on the Portuguese,
and the historical engagement oiF the eastern point of

' From 1580 to 1640 Portugal formed a portion of the Spanish Empire, and this
connexion was a prime factor in the decay of its power in the East.

276 HISTORY OF PERSIA chaf.

Jask was fought on the 28th of December 1620, The
English squadron comprised the London^ the Hart^ the
Robucke and the Eagle. The Portuguese fleet consisted
of " two Portingall gallions bigger than the London^ and
two Flemish Shipps, one much about the burthen of the
Hart^ the other lesser than the Robucke or Eaglet ^

The writer of the account continues : " About nine
of (the) clocke, the Lord sending us apprettie easterlie
gale, our fleete weighed and put all things in order for
fight. The London and Hart anchored within a cables
length and halfe from them upon their broadsides^ and
so indured the hottest burden of this second daies fight ;
for no sooner were they at anchor but that it fell calme
and so continued all daie, in so much that the Robucke
and Eagle ^ who, being somewhat asterne and steering
nearer the shoare with intent to anchor, one upon the
bowe of the Portugall admirall, and the other upon
the bowe of the vice admirall, could not, notwith-
standing all diligence used, come to doe anie service
in halfe an houres space ; and no sooner were wee
within the levell range of our ordinance from them
then that (not a breath of wind to bee felt and a current
against us) wee were constrayned to anchor or drive
further of But our broadsides once brought up, the
great ordinance from our whole fleete played so fast
uppon them, that doubtlesse, if the knowledge in our
people had beene answerable to their willing minds and
readie resolutions, not one of these galliounes, unless
their sides were impenetrable, had escaped us. About
three of the clocke in the afternoone, unwilling after so
hotte a dinner to receive the like supper, they cutte their
cables and drove with the tide (then setting westerly)
until they were without reach of our gunnes ; and then
their frigatts came to them and towed them awaie wonder-
fuUie mangled and torne ; for their admirall in the
greattest furie of the fight was inforced to heeld his
shippe to stoppe his leakes, his mainetopmast overbord
and the head of his mainemast. The greatter Flemming
both his topmasts and part of his bowspritt shotte awaie.

^ The EngUih Factoriei in India, 1618-21, pp. 223-24.

Lxiv STRUGGLE IN THE PERSIAN GULF 277

The lesser Flemming never a shrowde standing, never
a topmast.'*

Thus ended the fight, in which the losses on the
English side were small in number but included the
gallant Captain Shilling. Each time I land at Jask I
wonder whether a monument will ever be erected to
celebrate this victory, which would recall the prowess of
our ancestors and serve as an inspiration to their descend-
ants. The merchants, after this decisive action, returned
to business, took in five hundred and twenty bales of
silk, and went back to Surat.

The Capture of Hormuz by an Anglo-Persian Expedition^
A.D. 1622. — At the end of 162 1 the English squadron of
five ships and four pinnaces upon reaching Jask received
orders to proceed to Kuhistak, a port some forty miles
south of Minab. There the two captains in command
found the factors and were informed that the position "of
affairs was critical.

Hostilities had recently broken out between the
Persians and the Portuguese, and the latter had been
sacking the ports, which the former were totally unable
to defend. On the other hand, a Persian army had
established itself in Kishm and was besieging the Portu-
guese fort ; but it was out of the question for the
Persians to attack Hormuz unless the English could be
induced to co-operate. Imam Kuli Khan, son of Allah
Verdi Khan, who conducted the operations as Governor
of Pars, showed a good deal of political acumen. He
held out promises of reward, combined with a hint that,
should the factors refuse to co-operate in a war which had
been mainly provoked on account of the privileges granted
to the English, these privileges would be cancelled, and
the silk that was in transit would be confiscated.

The question was debated at considerable length.
There was peace in Europe between the Courts of
England and Portugal, represented by Spain, although
in Eastern waters the two powers had always fought one
another. The Directors of the Company, who would have
to bear the brunt if King James should think it advisable
to make a scapegoat, would almost certainly disapprove

278 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

of the whole business. On the other hand, the merchants
were most unwilling to sacrifice the trade so painfully
started, and they were Englishmen of the period, ready
to take great risks.

In the end they agreed to co-operate, and the follow-
ing terms were quickly arranged with Imam Kuli Khan :
— (a) An equal division of spoils ; (F) an equal division
of customs dues when Hormuz was taken ; the English
to be free of all duties in perpetuity ; {c) the Christian
prisoners to be handed over to the English and the
Moslems to the Persians ; and {a) the Persians to pay
half the expenses of the fleet for supplies. These
preliminaries having been arranged, the seamen had to
be won over. At first they refused, "alleaging it was
no merchandizing business, nor were they hired for any
such exploit.'* However, by a mixture of threats and
promises this difficulty was overcome, and in January
1622 the squadron put to sea.

The captains first made for Hormuz, hoping that the
Portuguese fleet would accept the challenge, but when it
was evident that the enemy had no intention of taking
it up they sailed for Kishm, some fifteen miles away.
There they found Ruy Freire, who had previously fought
them, in command. After futile negotiations the fort
was bombarded, but with little eflFect. A battery of five
guns was then set up on land. The artillery practice was
remarkable, a gun on the wall of the fort being dismounted
at the first shot ; a breach was eff'ected and the Portuguese
surrendered. The casualties were trifling, but among
the killed was William BaflSn, of Arctic fame. To quote
from Purckas^ his Pilgrimes : " Master Baffin went on
shoare with his Geometricall Instruments, for the taking
the height and distance of the castle wall ; but as he was
about the same, he received a small shot from the Castle
into his belly, wherewith he gave three leapes, by report,
and died immediately.** ^

After this success, which must have raised the spirits
of the allies, the expedition anchored off^ Hormuz. The
Persians immediately landed a large force which took

1 Vol. ii. p. 1792.

Lxiv STRUGGLE IN THE PERSIAN GULF 279

possession of the town, and it was agreed that they should
attack from the land side. From the sea and from a land
battery the English bombarded simultaneously the castle
and the fleet, but the latter did not attempt to show fight.
The largest Portuguese galleon, the San Pedro^ was set
on fire first, and then one by one the other ships were
destroyed. The Persians, on their side, succeeded in
blowing up part of the wall ; but their assault, although
delivered with much gallantry, was repulsed with loss.
Nevertheless, the situation of the garrison was desperate,
and as the result of negotiations the fort was surrendered
to the English. Five years after this feat of arms Sir
Thomas Herbert visited Hormuz and wrote of the
fort : " And both within and without the Castle so
regularly built and so well fortified with deep trenches,
counterscarp, and great Ordnance comnjanding both
City and Haven, that none exceeded it through all the
Orient." ^

Thus fell the famous casde of Hormuz, by means of
which the Portuguese for more than a century had held
at their mercy the trade between India and Europe by the
Persian Gulf. Portugal was thrown back on Maskat, but
from that base remained still so formidable that the
English squadron was forced to keep with the Dutch for
mutual protection ; in 1624 the allied fleets fought an
indecisive action against the Portuguese.

In 1625 the squadron from England was attacked by
Botelho, the new Portuguese commander. The Lion
was boarded, but the assailants were blown up, and the
ship made for Bandar Abbas, then more generally called
Gombroon.^ There Ruy Freire attacked and succeeded
in burning the English ship. The crew fell into the
hands of the enemy and were ruthlessly massacred, one
man alone being spared.

Gradually, however, the power of the Portuguese
waned, an expedition which was fitted out in 1630 with a
view to the recapture of Hormuz being a failure. Maskat

1 Some Years' Trwvelsy etc., p. io6 j his account of Hormuz and of the siege is well
worth reading.

*^ This ill-sounding word is a corruption of the Turkish Gumruk or Custom-house,
itself a corruption of the Greek Kovfiepif akin to the English word " commerce."

2 8o HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

was captured by the Imam of Oman in 1651/ and no great
while after the capture of Hormuz only deserted forts and
the word portugale^ the name by which a sweet orange is
known in Persia, were left to mark the splendid position
gained by the valour of D* Albuquerque and lost by the
incapacity of his successors. For the English the taking
of Hormuz was the most important event which had
occurred since their appearance in the East, and their
power and prestige must have risen to great heights when
the news reached India. In Persia, too, they must have
acquired credit ; for although the commander of the
Shah's troops would doubtless minimize the part played
by our countrymen, whose losses were trifling compared
with his own, without doubt Abbas fully realized that he
could not have seized Hormuz without English help.
When, in a.d. 1635, the British made peace with Portugal
in the East — a peace which has never since been broken —
the Persians were much alarmed on account of Hormuz,
a fact which sufficiently shows how important was the
part played in those Eastern waters by our fighting
ancestors.

The Dutch, — Two years after the grant of the British
East India Company's charter, rival Dutch efforts were
amalgamated into a single company, and in the course of
the next twenty years the newcomers had won their way
to a leading position, mainly at the expense of Portugal,
whose chief possessions they seized. A Dutch factory
seems to have been established at Hormuz the year after
its capture by the Anglo -Persian expedition ; ^ it was
subsequendy moved to Bandar Abbas, where the massive
building still remains and serves as the residence of the
Persian Governor. In 1652, and again in 1666, Dutch
missions visited Isfahan, and Chardin writes that at this
period the Dutch were masters of the Persian trade, the
English occupying the second place. Their success was
due to their forcing the Persian Government to allow them
to buy silk in any part of Persia and to export it without
paying customs dues. This right was acquired in 1645,

^ Vide The Imams of Oman, edited for Hakluyt Society by Rev. P. Badger, p. 8i ff.
^ Persia, ii. p. 550. This section and the following are mainly based on Lord
Curzon's work. Chardin's work, too, deserves study.

ixiv STRUGGLE IN THE PERSIAN GULF 281

and was finally claimed to be a monopoly for the export
of silk from Persia. The civil war in England, which
occurred at this period, naturally reacted unfavourably
on the English position in Persia, where Shah Abbas and
his nobles resented deeply the execution of Charles I.
In the eighteenth century the situation changed : Holland,
which had sacrificed everything to a monopoly of the
spice trade, lost nearly all her colonial possessions in Asia
to Great Britain, and her flag finally disappeared from the
Persian Gulf.

The French, — France was the latest power to approach
Persia from the south. She effected litde until 1 664, when
Colbert, the great minister who strove so hard to expand
the foreign relations of his country, despatched an embassy
to Shah Abbas II. This mission had a friendly reception,
although it was felt that Persia had been sligjited because
the envoys were not men of higher rank. Trading rights
similar to those conceded to other nations and immunity
from taxation and customs for three years were granted
in a farman^ and upon the strength of these privileges
factories were established at Isfahan and at Bandar Abbas.
In 1708 Louis XIV. concluded a treaty with Shah Sultan
Husayn, and the French traded with Persia until the
Afghan invasion, after which they withdrew. During
the reign of Karim Khan the island of Kharak was ceded
to the French ; but it was never occupied, the French East
India Company being at that period suppressed. Finally,
during the short-lived period of French ascendancy at
the Court of Fath Ali Shah in 1807-8 Kharak was again
ceded, but with the expulsion of the French embassy
from Persia in 1809 this cession was annulled.

The Embassy of Sir Dodmore Cotton to Shah Abhas^ a.d.
1627. — Among the far-reaching results of the capture of
Hormuz by the two allies was the change it brought
about in the commercial policy of Persia. As already
mentioned, the Shah was mainly interested in the silk
trade, and although Sir Robert Sherley had failed in his
first mission to arrange for the export of the commodity
via Hormuz, the Persian monarch by no means gave up
the project. The expulsion of the Portuguese from the

282 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

island emporium changed the whole situation. Two
years later the appearance of Sir Robert Sherley on his
second embassy, with a splendid retinue and in the
enjoyment of a large pension, made a great impression
in England. Although his exaggerated account of the
wealth of Persia was discounted, a return mission was
decided upon, and Sir Dodmore Cotton was sent, accom-
panied by Sherley and the scholarly Herbert. The
mission landed at Gombroon, " whereupon the Cannons
from the Castle and Cittadel vomited out their choler, ten
times roaring out their wrathful clamours." The route
followed by practically all the English travellers at this
period lay through Lar and Shiraz, where the present
Bushire-Isfahan main route was struck. The monarch
was not at his capital, and the envoys travelled on north-
wards to AshraiF in the province of Mazanderan, where
they were received in audience.

After passing through various apartments in which
gold plate was lavishly exhibited, the ambassadors were
received by Shah Abbas. Sir Dodmore Cotton stated
that he had made a very great journey to congratulate
the monarch on his success against their common enemy
the Turks ; also to promote trade and to make a per-
petual league of friendship between England and Persia,
and finally to see Sir Robert Sherley vindicate himself
from the imputations of Nakd Ali Beg. The Shah, like a
true son of Iran, replied that the Turks were a mean
people and of no consequence, as was proved by his many
victories over them. Nevertheless, he wished for unity
among the Christian princes, as the Turkish conquests
were due to their discord. As for trade, he was ready to
deliver ten thousand bales every January at Gombroon,
and would accept English cloth of equal value in exchange,
so as to avoid being forced to export his silk through
Turkey. Towards Sir Robert Sherley he expressed most
friendly sentiments. Finally he drank the King of
England's health in a bowl of wine, and, noting that the
ambassador uncovered his head, he lifted up his turban.

This reception was most satisfactory ; but owing to
intrigues against Sir Robert Sherley, with whose private

Lxiv STRUGGLE IN THE PERSIAN GULF 283

interests the mission, owing to the instructions of King
James, was far too deeply involved, matters here termin-
ated. The ambassador was practically ignored by the
great nobles, no other audience was granted, and after
reaching Kazvin both Sir Dodmore Cotton and Sir Robert
Sherley died.

Thus ended in gloom the second -^ embassy to Persia,
the ambassador being buried in "a Dormitory amongst
the Armenian graves ; who also with their priests and
people very civilly assisted the ceremony.'* Though a
partial failure, the mission undoubtedly increased English
interest in Persia. As an indication of this it is worth
noting that Charles I., a staunch patron of learning,
requested the East India Company to procure him some
Persian manuscripts.

The Fortunes of the British, — By way of ^conclusion to
this chapter, a word may be said of British fortunes under
the later Safavi monarchs. Safi I. stipulated for an
annual gift of ;^I500 and for the purchase annually of
;^6o,ooo worth of his silk. This was to be paid for in
goods to the extent of two-thirds, and in money to the
extent of one-third. Almost from the start the Persians
had failed to pay over to the British the stipulated share
of the customs receipts of Bandar Abbas. There were
constant complaints on this subject, and as the years
passed the Persians, who thought the English made a
very good thing out of the privileges they enjoyed,
declined to reconsider the question. The amalgamation
of the old and new East India Companies in 1708 put
an end to internal friction, and the position of the
factory remained strong and prosperous until the Afghan
invasion.

^ The first embassy to Arghun in 1291 is referred to in Chapter LVII.

(JU^l

CHAPTER LXV

ARCHITECTURE AND ART UNDER THE SAFAVI DYNASTY
Isfahan is half the world. — Persian Pronjerb.

Isfahan^ the Safavi Capital. — The masterpieces of
Persian architecture under the Safavi monarchs are mostly
to be found at Isfahan, and I therefore propose to describe
the Safavi capital and some of its chief buildings which
1 have examined.^ To do so is to describe the golden
prime of medieval Persian architecture, which still serves
as a model to-day, except in the cities of the north where
Russian - designed houses have been adopted by the
imitative sons of Iran.

The Royal Square. — Isfahan is situated on the left or
north bank of the Zenda Rud, on a level fertile piece of
land, and at its zenith may have had a population of
three hundred thousand inhabitants. Its heart was the
Maydan-i-Shah, or " Royal Square,'* enclosed by long
ranges of double-storied buildings ; Herbert declared it to
be " as spacious, as pleasant and aromatick a Market as
any in the Universe." The dimensions of the Maydan are
560 yards by 174 yards, and, as it was the royal polo
ground, these measurements are of some interest.^ The
game of polo reached the height of its popularity at the
period we have now reached, and matches are described
by both Sherley and Chardin.^ The marble goal -posts

^ In addition to my own notes, I have consulted Curzon's Pen'ia and Coatc's Monu-
ments modernei de la Pcne j also the article on Persian Art in Encyclop. of Religion and
Ethicsy ed. by James Hastings.

^ The present measurements of a polo ground are 300 by 200 yards,
^ Vide Ten Thousand Miles^ etc., p. 342, where I have collected the accounts of
these travellers,

284

cHAP.Lxv ARCHITECTURE AND ART 285

are still standing, and many years ago, the morning after
my arrival at Isfahan, I rose very early and knocked a
polo ball between the posts, the first time such a thing
had been done for perhaps two centuries. By this act I
paid homage to a glorious past and expressed my gratitude
to Persia for a game which is unequalled.

The Royal Mosque, — Overlooking the imposing paral-
lelogram is the Masjid-i-Shah, or " Royal Mosque,*' one of
the finest existing examples of Persian architecture. To
quote the masterly description by Lord Curzon : — " A
lofty archway framed in a recess, embellished with interior
honeycomb groining in enamelled faience, surrounded
by tile inscriptions from the Koran, and flanked by two
minarets with spiral bands of similar ornamentation, leads
from the Maydan through a porch, containing a great
vase or font of porphyry, into the inner count. Here the
peculiar construction of the Mosque, already visible from
the exterior, is fully apparent. The axis of the Maydan
being almost due north and south, the architect required
to incline the axis of the mosque considerably to the
south-west, in order that the mihrab or prayer- niche
might be turned in the direction of Mecca. This pur-
pose was eflFected by architectural means that are at once
grandiose and simple. The inner court, marble-paved
and containing a great tank for ablutions in the centre, is
surrounded by a two-storeyed arcade, undecorated save
by bands of Kufic inscriptions in tile-work, white letters
upon a blue ground. The arches are kept for the accom-
modation of priests and attendants. On either side rises
a lofty tile-faced aywan^ a mighty arch in which opens
access to a space covered by a low dome. Opposite the
entrance a third aywan^ flanked by minarets, conducts
into the mosque proper, which is surmounted by the
principal cupola, whose exterior, covered with exquisite
tiles containing patterns in dark blue and green arabesque
on an azure ground, is one of the principal land-marks in
the city. On either sid-e of the shrine are further courts,
with basins and porticoes, to which the public are admitted
on Fridays. The decorative treatment of this beautiful
building, though falling, like all other works of art in

286 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Persia, into decay, yet remains a superb sample of the
style of the Safavi kings."

The Ala Kapi, — On the east side of the Maydan is
situated the Ala Kapi, or " Lofty Gate,'* by which the
royal palace was entered. It may more correctly be
described as a building in the form of a great arch on
which was constructed a talar^ or open throne-room, sup-
ported by the wooden columns which form a distinctive
feature of Safavi architecture. Enthroned in state, the
Shah gave audience at the No Ruz, or New Year, in this
hall, which is declared by Chardin to be *' le plus beau
Sallon de cette sorte que j*aye vA au monde.'* His
Majesty also witnessed polo matches, horse races and
wild beast combats from this same* building, in which he
was visible to thousands of his subjects who filled the
great square.

The Chehel Sutun, — The Ala Kapi leads into the vast
gardens, in which were many palaces. The most important
building is the Chehel Sutun, or " Forty Columns/' ^
This splendid throne-room, with its roof constructed of
the boles of great plane trees and supported by twenty
columns made of the same tree, was formerly wainscoted
with white marble, surmounted by mirror- work set in
facets. Behind this verandah is the actual throne-room,
from which opened a dais supporting the throne. Small
rooms on either side were destined for the ministers
and for service, and behind, extending the entire length
of the building, is a long gallery with three immense oil*
f)aintings on each side, three of which are reproduced in
this work. To quote again from Lord Curzon, " they
transport us straight to the court of the lordly Abbas and
his predecessors or successors on the throne. We see
the king engaged in combat, or at some royal festivity,
enjoying the pleasures of the bowl. The big moustaches
and smooth chins, and abundant turbans, represent a
fashion of coiffure that has long expired. The arms and
accoutrements of the warriors, the instruments of the
musicians, the very gestures of the dancing-girls, open to

^ The number "Forty" is not intended to be taken literally, any more than in the
ca«e of Persepolis, which aUo has for one of iti name* the "Forty Columns."

<
DC

c/p

Q
Tri

288 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Khan, which even in decay must rank among the great
bridges of the world. Approached by a paved causeway,
it is entered through the usual gateway. The extraordinary
feature of the bridge, which is 388 yards in length, with
a paved roadway 30 feet wide, is that there are three
distinct thoroughfares, at three separate levels. One of
these is the roadway, on each side of which runs a covered
arcade, opening by arches into the main road on one side
and on to the river on the other. Here and there this
arcade, or gallery, leads past chambers that were originally
adorned with paintings. Above this main road, on the
summit of the bridge, is a footway reached by steps,
and below it a lower storey, to which similar steps
descend. Here, just above the river-bed, a passage runs
the entire length of the bridge. The only adverse
criticism to be made is one which will be appreciated
from the illustration, namely, that the bridge at most
seasons of the year is a structure too fine for the exiguous
stream of the Zenda Rud.

Tiles. — The practice of covering buildings with tiles
reached its zenith under the Safavi rulers, and this there-
fore is a convenient place for a few remarks on the
famous products of the Persian kilns. Ceramics certainly
played an important part in Achaemenian architecture, and
the Frieze of the Archers at Susa, mentioned in Chapter
XV., is a superb example of the tiles of the period. But
the art apparently disappeared, if, indeed, it was at that
time practised on the Iranian plateau, which is doubtful ;
therefore for our present purpose the tiles of the
Achaemenian period may be disregarded.

In the first rank is the faience h reflet^ or lustred tiles.
There is much doubt about the original home of these
products, of which the oldest dated pieces, bearing dates
A.D. 864-75, ^^^ stated to be in Tunis. -^ In a.d. 1035
the celebrated Nasiri Khusru gives an interesting account
of lustre ware, which apparently did not at that period
exist in Iran : but, wherever the art came into being, it
is in Persia that it attained a beauty which stamps it for
all time as the noblest creation of the potter. What has

^ Vide "The Godman Collection" in the Connoisseur for September 1903.

■^

Lxv ARCHITECTURE AND ART 289

added to the Interest of the lustre tile Is the fact that it
represents a lost art. It is known indeed that the soft
paste was covered with an opaque glaze, generally white
or blue, and then baked. As a second process alloys of
gold, silver, copper and other metals were painted, and
the tile was baked again. These alloys produced colours
ranging from gold to ruby red and from turquoise blue
to brown ; and no experiments have succeeded In success-
fully imitating the superb beauty of the Persian ceramics.
The finest specimen of lustre In my possession consists
of a tile measuring 24 inches by 1 8^ inches. The ground
is brown and on it are sapphire blue letters an Inch wide,
standing up half an inch in relief and with turquoise blue
conventional leaves. Unfortunately, although many large
fragments of these tiles were brought to me, it was Im-
possible to fit them together into a complete specimen,
but even in Its Imperfect condition Its beauty is great.

The tiles without lustre which were manufactured
under the Timurids, and again under the Safavis, are also
very beautiful. Every colour Is used, but the scroll-work
Is so artistic and the mixture of the colours so perfect
that an effect Is produced of deep richness, which Is
enhanced when the tiles are seen on some stately quad-
rangle or portico, with the cloudless blue of the Persian
sky as a background. Here again It is very diflScult to
trace the artistic Influences at work in the production of
the tiles ; but there is no doubt that Chinese art, which
was introduced by the Mongols, powerfully affected the
impressionable Persian In tile-making as It did also in
painting, although Persian art never lost Its marked
individuality In colour, shape and design.

Pottery. — Not only in tiles, but in pottery also, the
Persian artists achieved great beauty of shape, design and
colour. Here, too, Chinese Influence may be observed,
and it Is interesting to learn from Chardin that the Dutch
sold " the porcelain of Meshed and Kerman " to customers
in Europe, pretending that It came from China. Perhaps
the finest Persian pottery Is the imitation Celadon ware,
in which Chinese designs are copied, but associated with
Persian characteristics. The Persian ware, which is white

VOL. II u

290 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

and translucent, has a beauty of its own, and perhaps
surpasses its model in freedom and boldness of design.
Even comparatively modern Persian basins and plates of
a creamy white paste with coloured floral decoration are
distinctly attractive and are beginning to be noticed by
the collector.

Carpets. — The carpets of Persia form an almost in-
exhaustible theme, and although numerous works have
appeared on this subject a really good book still remains
to be written. The antiquity of the carpet is great,
references to it dating back to the third millennium B.C.,
and Sir George Birdwood-^ is of opinion that there has j
been " no material modification in the artistic and technical!
character " since the earliest description of these fabrics.
It must, however, be noted that the imposition of Islam
on Persia affected their designs, which fall into two classes :
{a) Those expressing the Shia spirit in animals, trees,
blossoms, flowers, with free graceful scrolls, conventional
arabesques and cartouches enclosing inscriptions ; and
{F) those in which the design, reflecting the Sunni
austerity, is limited to geometrical and angular forms,
such as the Turkoman carpets with their bazuband^ or
" armlet " patterns.

To this spirit we mainly owe the wonderful develop-
ment in Persia of floral and geometrical designs and of
arabesques on which the patterns of our curtains, of our
wall-papers, of our carpets, and of many other articles
are based in England to-day. To quote Birdwood, " the
new and severely conventionalised floral type, applied
either as a diaper, or in the ' Tree of Life ' and ' Knop
and Flower ' patterns, gradually prevailed ; and as modified
in the freer drawing and more natural delineations of the
Italianesque Abbasi carpets, it characterises the predominant
denominations of Persian carpets."

Under the Sasanian dynasty Persian fabrics known
as Susancherd were highly prized in the West, and when
Ctesiphon was captured by Sad, among the loot was a

1 "The Antiquity of Oriental Carpets," Journal Royal Socy, of Arts for November
1908.

^ A bazuband is generally an octagonal metal box containing a portion of the
Koran j it is worn to afford protection.

Lxv ARCHITECTURE AND ART 291

silk carpet, 60 ells long. The design represented was
a fir dans ^ or garden, with running streams marked out
by crystals, the ground in gold thread, the leaves
worked in silk and the blossoms represented by precious
stones.

The tradition of this marvellous carpet, which was
probably not the only specimen made, was never lost, and
an example believed to have been woven for Shah Abbas
has been preserved. Of this I am able to give an illus-
tration, which deserves careful examination. The carpet,
woven in wool, is divided into the four customary plots
by the main stream of water, crossed by a smaller stream.
To quote from Mrs. Villiers Stuart, " the characteristic
canals, the special feature of the type, are unequal in
length, but their form is only a modification of the older
cosmic cross. The central pavilion is very small, little
more than a fountain basin, in which four birds swim, a
curious mixture of swan and royal peacock. The carpet
shows the old symbolic avenues of cypress and flowering
fruit-trees with their mystic birds beak to beak and tulip
border close to the stream. Four large plane trees are
planted at the angles of the pavilions forming an outer
avenue, and trees fill the squares at the corners of the
central tank." ^

It is impossible to write, however briefly, about Persian
carpets without a reference to the exquisite 40- foot
carpet from the Shrine of Ardebil, which, as the inscription
proves, was woven in the reign of Shah Tahmasp, in
A.H. 946 (1540). Thanks to English patriotism it was
bought for the nation and is now one of the most prized
treasures of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The
ground is of dark blue, the medallions are yellow and
the cartouches and borders are red. From the great
central group of medallions lamps depend, and the tracery
is so rich and so natural that the carpet resembles a
beautiful picture.

One of the most convincing proofs of Persian genius
in carpets is the remarkable variety of design, every

^ Gardens of the Great Mughah, p. 149, by C. M. Villiers Stuart, a most charming
work.

292 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

nomad tribe weaving a separate pattern ; while there is
an enormous difference between the bright joyousness of
the carpets of Kerman, displaying Shia tendencies, and
the sombre, but infinitely rich, colours of the austere
Sunni Turkoman fabrics. Both are treasures to the
collector, and so also are good specimens of the rugs all
over Persia, from Kurdistan on the west to Khorasan on
the east It is perhaps worth mentioning that the irregu-
larities in colour or design are introduced for the purpose
of averting the evil eye ; that beasts and flowers alike
have their emblematical or symbolical meaning ; that the
" Tree of Life '* has survived from Sumerian to modern
times ; and that what is believed to be a Chinese seal is
now incorporated in the border of many Turkoman
carpets.

In addition to carpets there is the namad^ or felt,
manufactured by rolling wool into a solid mass. The
finest specimens made at Kerman are of a fawn colour,
and, weighing less than a carpet, are on that account
valued by travellers ; the coarser quality is used as a
heavy horse covering in winter. Neither of these
varieties is exported.

The shawls of Persia with their embroideries are
highly prized in the East. The European prefers rich
embroidery, the needlework praised by Marco Polo, who
wrote : " The ladies of the country and their daughters
also produce exquisite needlework in the embroidery of
silk stuffs in different colours, with figures of beasts, trees,
and flowers and a variety of other patterns. They work
hangings for the use of noblemen so deftly that they are
marvels to see, as well as cushions, pillows, quilts, and
all sorts of things.**

The embossed brocades are very beautiful and so are
the ancient velvets of Kashan ; and it is sad to know that
Persian ladies despise their own exquisite fabrics and
prefer the inferior products of Europeari looms. It is
in patterns as well as in quality that the Persians were
supreme, and there is very little in the old art, from the
stamped calico of Isfahan to the embroidered saddle-cloths
of Resht, which is not appreciated by the European and

ARCHITECTURE AND ART 293

American collector. Nor was the fame of Persian stuffs
md colours unknown in medieval Europe, light blue
material being termed " pers " in English, as in other
anguagcs of the day.

Piiinihig. — By Moslem rule the human figure cannot
be represented in art. Fortunately this was subject to
exceptions, and descriptions are extant of pictures painted
in the schools of Damascus, Baghdad and Cairo, in which
such figures appear. Few of the works of these artists
have survived, but the Austrian traveller Musil discovered
in the Syrian desert figure paintings of the eighth
century. The most important is a large picture in
which the Byzantine Emperor, the Caliph and the
Chosroes are pourtrayed ; other figures of the ninth
century have been found at Samarra. The frescoes dis-
covered by Stein at Khotan may also be studied J

Among the earliest dated miniature paintings — and in
Persian art pictures on a small scale are the best — is a
work of the Abbasid school from Baghdad, the date of
which, A.D. 1222, is beyond dispute. It shows strongly the
influence of Byzantine art. But this art was soon almost
forgotten, and shortly afterwards Chinese influence became
equidly strong, only to be shaken ofi^ in its turn. The
sack of Baghdad by Hulagu in a.d. 1258 is believed to
have dealt the death-blow to Arab art based on old
tradition, and at the same time to have given birth to
true Persiaii art. This at first was Persian Mongolian,
still showing traces of Byzantine influence. Its promise
was great, greater indeed than its accomplishment, for
the overpowering desire for material beautv mastered all
idea of dramatic pourtrayal.

At the end of the fourteenth century, by which time
Tamerlane had conquered Persia, the art had reached its
zenith. There is a perfect equilibrium between drawing
and colour, but the appeal is made by the artist to the
eye, and to the eye alone ; in other words, the soul is
wanting. The general impression is that of a scene
pourtra}'eJ with a mass of colours, skilfully blended to

^ I have consulted Dr. Martin's MsK-.irw^ Pjiitttiiigs ji*/ PMnttrs efPtrsL:, eu. j also
Gay«t'$ L\irt fitrsj-:. I have to thank Dr. Dieti^ of the University of Vienna, for
the note on MuslTs discovery.

294 HISTORY OF PERSIA

CHAP.

produce an eflFect of great richness. The border is
frequently composed of verses most artistically woven into
the picture ; and here it may be noted that the Persian
painter is also frequently a calligraphist, and that no other
people are so skilled in using the alphabet for decorative
purposes. The failure would appear to be that the figures
never tell their own story from the expression, but resemble
waxen figures set in exquisite surroundings. Nature is
not studied for its own beauty, but in order to explain
the subject of the picture, and to act as a sympathetic and
illustrative background.

The themes of the Persian artist are few in number
and are generally confined to well-known events such
as the meeting between Khusru and Shirin, and Majnun
and Layla. During the Safavi period European figures
were introduced. Religious subjects were rarely attempted.
The Persian painter groups badly, but draws well. His
figures are less important than the accessories, such as
clothes, jewelry and weapons, which are reproduced with
infinite pains. The colouring is excellent and the re-
sults are distinctly pleasing, although apt to strike the
European as unfamiliar and at times as bordering on the
grotesque.^

Metal Work, — The genius of Persia, so strongly ex-
pressed in ceramics and textiles, was equally visible in
metal work of every kind. In shape, and above all in
decoration, the Persian metal worker was unsurpassed,
and his armour and swords enjoyed a wide reputation.
To this Marco Polo testifies : " They are very skilful in
making harness of war ; their saddles, bridles, spurs,
swords, bows, quivers, and arms of every kind are very
well made." Vessels of all sorts abound, from the drink-
ing-cup of the poor man to the great cauldron of the
rich, and in them all there is a beauty of form and design
which is most attractive. Of modern art, the gold and
silver filigree work of Zenjan and the Khatamkari^ or
mosaics, of Shiraz are worthy of attention ; nor can the
carved spoons of Abadeh be omitted from any list, how-
ever brief.

^ These remarks are based on the review of Martin's work in The Times.

Fascal Cos ft:

COLLEGE OE SHAH SULTAX HUSAVX. ISFAHAX.

Lxv ARCHITECTURE AND ART 295

The examples of Persian art which can be seen in the
Victoria and Albert Museum and elsewhere prove that,
although Persia adopted much, she invariably improved
on her models ; and as the years pass the work of her
old artists and craftsmen is becoming more and more
appreciated in the great centres of the West.

Shah Husayn.

CHAPTER LXVI

THE DECLINE OF THE SAFAVI DYNASTY

Un Aide des C^r^monles conduisit I'Ambassadeur. II le fit descendre de
cheval k cent pas environ du grand Portail et le mena fort vite au Sallon oia
^toit le Roi. Le Capitaine de la porte le prit li, et le conduisit au baiser des
pieds du Roi. Ce Salut se fait en cette sorte. On m^ne TAmbassadeur i
quatre pas du Roi vis-i-vis delui, ou on I'arr^te, et on le met k genoux, et
on lui fait faire trois fois un prosternement du corps et de la tete en terre,
si bas, que le front y touche. L'Ambassadeur se relive apr^s, et d^livre la
lettre qu'il a pour le Roi au Capitaine de la porte qui la met dans les mains
du Roi, et le Roi la met k c6t^ droit sans la regarder. On m^ne ensuite
I'Ambassadeur k la place qui lui est destin^e. — Chardin, iii. 221.

The Cause of the Decline. — Few dynasties have lived
SO long and so successfully upon their reputation as did
that of the Safavis after the death of Shah Abbas. To
some extent their great monarch must be held responsible
for the degeneracy of his successors, since by his orders
they were brought up in the anderun among eunuchs and
women, and not trained to arms, as had been invariably
the custom until it was altered by the imperious old man.
It is obvious that by this change he hoped to avoid the
risk of being killed by a capable member of his own
family, and he either failed to realize, or was indifferent
to, the inevitable results of the new system.

The policy succeeded only too well, and throughout
a second century, during which the dynasty continued to
rule Persia, there was no able monarch to sit on the
throne of his ancestors. Yet, owing to the reverence

296

CH. Lxvi DECLINE OF SAFAVI DYNASTY 297

felt for the sacred house, its rule was accepted by the
people until the virility of the nation itself was corrupted.
Then an awful penalty had to be paid in blood and shame
for neglect of all the precautions by which the existence
of states is preserved.

Shah Safi^K.n. 1038-1052 (1629-1642). — Shah Abbas,
when dying, ordered that Sam Mirza, son of the un-
fortunate Safi Mirza^ should be proclaimed his successor.
The new monarch took the title of Shah Safi, and his
reign of thirteen years was one long chapter of executions.
He murdered the princes of the blood royal, and even
some of the princesses, and, not content with thus secur-
ing his power, deliberately put to death all his grandfather's
most trusted councillors and generals. Among his victims
was Imam Kuli Khan, the conqueror of Hormuz. We
learn from Tavernier and Olearius, who with Chardin
constitute our chief authorities for the period, that the
great noble was warned not to venture to court, but
relying on his long years of faithful service he obeyed
the summons and was put to death. His sons shared
his fate, lest they should avenge his death when they
grew up.

The Holstetn Embassy^ 1637.- — -The pioneer efforts of
Jenkinson to trade with Persia across Russia ended in
failure, as recorded in Chapter LXII. A fresh effort was
made in the seventeenth century from a new quarter, but
by the same route. The silk manufactures of Holstein
were considerable and, the raw silk of Persia attracting
the attention of its merchants, the Duke decided to
despatch Brucman, a Hamburg merchant who had
originated the scheme, on an embassy to the Shah.

The mission made disadvantageous arrangements with
the Grand Duke of Muscovy for free transit, and upon
arriving in Persia found that the freight and customs
charges would eat up all the profits. Brucman, to avoid
returning empty-handed, then tried to negotiate an
alliance against Turkey. The failure and blunders which
cost him his life are recorded in the work of Adam
Olearius,^ who was the secretary of the mission. The

^ Relation de 'voyage^ Paris, 1639.

298 HISTORY OF PERSIA

negative results were perhaps of some value, as it was
proved once more that owing to bad and dangerous
communications and the great distance the trade would
not be profitable.

The Uzbegs. — At the very end of the sixteenth century
there was a change in the dynasty of the Uzbegs. When
the Russians absorbed the Khanate of Astrakhan, the
dispossessed chief took refuge at Bokhara, where he was
warmly welcomed by Iskandar, the last monarch of the
Shaybanid dynasty. Jani Khan, son of the refugee prince,
married the daughter of Iskandar, and after the murder
of the latter was offered the throne ; he, however, declined
it in favour of his son, who founded the Astrakhan
dynasty, which lasted until the end of the eighteenth
century. The relations of Bokhara with Persia were
unchanged, invasions by the Uzbegs into Khorasan being
undertaken with varying success. In a.h. 1017 (1608)
a great sovereign appeared in the person of Imam Kuli,
who seized the throne, and during his reign of thirty-
eight years Bokhara recovered some part of her ancient
wealth and prosperity. His rule was not aggressive and
only one raid into Khorasan is mentioned, which was
repulsed by the generals of Shah Safi. But greater
success was met with at Kandahar, where the Persian
Governor evacuated the city upon the approach of the
Uzbegs and, marching off with the garrison to Delhi,
entered the service of the Moghul Emperor.

The Capture of Hamadan by the Turks ^ a.h. 1039
(1630). — During the reign of Shah Safi another of the
almost constant wars with Turkey broke out. At this
period the throne of Othman was occupied by Murad IV.,
the last fighting sultan, whose offensive policy was a
serious menace to Persia. The first campaign was
directed against Hamadan. The Turkish army marched
to Mosul, where it was delayed by heavy rains. It then
entered Kurdistan, defeated a Persian army, and in a.h.
1039 (1630) captured Hamadan.

The inhabitants of the ancient capital of Media were
massacred and the city was sacked for six days, during
which the buildings were destroyed and even the trees

*'. t

t/:

O '^

!r .-2 o

^^ o

Lxvi DECLINE OF SAP AVI DYNASTY 299

were cut down. From the scene of this barbarous excess
the army marched across the Zagros against Baghdad.
This city was strongly held by a determined garrison, and
although the bombardment levelled the walls, the assault
which followed was repulsed, thousands of Turks being
buried in the ruins. After this failure the Turkish army
retreated on Mosul. In the following year a fresh
campaign was attempted, but the disgrace of the Grand
Vizier and a series of mutinies that followed gave Persia
a much-needed respite.

The Erivan Campaign^ a.h. 1045 (^^35)- — During
the first twelve years of his reign Murad had never gone
further than Adrianople in Europe and Brusa in Asia ;
he now took the field in person. His first campaign was
directed against Erivan, which capitulated on terms in
A.H. 1045 (^^35)' Tabriz, the next objective, was
occupied without resistance. In spite of this it was
deliberately destroyed, the Blue Mosque being saved
only by the entreaties of the Mufti, who pointed out that
it had been built by a Sunni. This concluded the
season's operations, and the Sultan returned in triumph
to Constantinople. Shah Safi had not dared to face the
Turkish army, but upon its departure he besieged Erivan.
The efforts made by the Turkish authorities to come to
the aid of the garrison were futile, and after its surrender
in the spring of 1636 the Shah returned to Isfahan.

The Capture of Baghdad^ a.h. 1048 (1638). — Three
years later Murad marched on Baghdad, moving, as in the
former campaign, by way of Mosul. On the very day
of his arrival the siege of Baghdad was begun. The
Sultan shared the perils and hardships with his soldiers
and under his personal supervision extraordinary energy
was shown. Although the Grand Vizier was killed in
leading an assault, the Turks were not to be denied, and
on the fortieth day they regained possession of the city,
fifteen years after its capture by the Persians. Murad
offered terms to the garrison, but as the resistance was
continued in isolated towers the Ottoman soldiery
massacred them all. During the siege Shah Safi had
appeared at Kasr-i-Shirin with 12,000 men, but this

300 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

force was too weak to effect anything of importance.
Shortly afterwards peace was made on the terms of the
actual position, Baghdad, which had been strongly
garrisoned, being retained by Turkey and Erivan by
Persia.

Abbas IL^ 1052-1077 (i 642-1 667). — Shah Safi was
succeeded by his son Abbas II., a boy of ten, and for
some years, under his Ministers, there was evidently a
reaction to a more austere tone, wine-bibbing being regarded
as a bar to office. But, as was to be expected, the young
Shah when he attained his majority indulged in the vices
of the period, and all European travellers without distinc-
tion were admitted to share his orgies. Apart from this,
the country was apparently prosperous and happy, and
Kandahar was recovered by an army led by the young
Shah in person. Architecture flourished during his reign.
To him we owe the stately quadrangle of the Sahn-i-Kuhna,
or " Old Court," at Meshed, the portico of which is a
particularly fine example of Safavi architecture combined
with the potter's art.^

The Uzbeg Refugees. — In the time of Abbas II. an
Uzbeg prince sought the protection of the Shah, and was
treated with extraordinary generosity and honour. Later
Nazir Mohamed, the Uzbeg monarch, threw himself on
Persian hospitality, and met with similar disinterested
kindness, an army being placed at his disposal to aid him
in asserting his rights. There was, indeed, a certain
chivalrous spirit in the Safavi monarchs, who never showed
to greater advantage than in their treatment of refugees
and foreign travellers.

The First Russian Embassy to Persia, a.d. 1664.^-It is
difficult to realize that Russia, whose frontiers are now
conterminous with those of Persia from Ararat on the
west to Kalat-i-Nadiri and Sarakhs on the east, had practi-
cally no relations with Iran until some two and a half
centuries ago. The first recorded embassy was from
the Emperor Alexis,^ usually termed the Grand Duke

1 Fide my "Historical Notes on Khorasan," Journal R.A.S. for October 1910,

p. 1 133.

2 He was the father of Peter the Great, and curiously enough in this very year he
received an embassy from Charles II. of England.

Lxvi DECLINE OF SAP AVI DYNASTY 301

of Muscovy, and consisted of two envoys with 800
followers. With the habitual generous hospitality of the
Safavisj the Muscovites were entertained in a splendid
palace, but it soon transpired that they were really
merchants who had been permitted to assume the r61e of
ambassadors in order to evade the payment of the customs
dues. Abbas was justly incensed at this duplicity, and
the Muscovites were thereupon treated with contempt and
dismissed without a formal reply. In revenge for this
affront the Grand Duke instigated the Cossacks of
Southern Russia to raid Mazanderan. At first they were
successful and burned Farrahabad, the capital. They then
entrenched themselves in the peninsula of Midn Kala,
close to the present Russian naval station at Ashurada,
but were driven out of their position. This raid was the
first act of Russian aggression against Persia.^ -

SulaymiDi, a.h. 1077-1105 (1667-1694). — Safi, the
eldest son of Abbas, was twenty years of age at the time
of his fiither*s death. Unwilling to accept a grown man as
their sovereign, the Ministers pretended to believe that the
young Prince, who had been kept immured in the anderun^
had been blinded, and on this account proposed to enthrone
his infant brother. The intrigue, however, was defeated
by the loyalty of a eunuch, and Safi ascended the throne
under the title of Sulayman.

The decline of the dynasty proceeded placidly under
the new monarch, who was a voluptuary and unwarlike.
The seizure of Kishm by the Dutch did not rouse him to
action, nor was he disturbed by the Uzbeg inroads into
Khorasan. Bad health in his later years confined him to
his anderun^ where he fell entirely under the influence of
eunuchs and women ; but even so the country appeared
to remain tranquil and the dynasty enjoyed its Indian
summer. Sulayman maintained the traditional splendour
of the Safevi Court. Chardin gives a vivid description of
the scene in the Maydan-i-Shah on a day of festival :
" Le 16. Sur les huit heures du matin on vit la Place
Royale arros^e de bout en bout, & ornde comme je vais
le dire. A c6t6 de la grand entree du Palais Royal, \

^ Chardin, Coronation of King Solyman III., pp. 152-54.

302 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

vingt pas de distance, il y avoit douze Chevaux des plus
beaux de T^curie du Roi, six de chaque cdt^, couverts de
harnois les plus superbes & magnifiques qu'on puisse
voir au monde. Quatre harnois dtoient d'Emeraudes,
deux de Rubis, deux de pierres de couleur m^l6es avec
des Diamans, deux autres 6toient d'Or 6maill6 & deux
autres de fin Or lisse. ... A trente pas des Chevaux, il
y avoit des B6tes farouches dress^es a combattre centre
des jeunes Taureaux. Deux Lions, un Tygre, et un
Leopard, attachez, & chacun 6tendu sur un grand Tapis
d'^carlate, la tete tourn^e vers le Palais.'' ^

During his long reign Sulayman received many
embassies, and among the most brilliant was one from
France, whose ambassador termed himself " General and
Ambassador from the Great King of Europe.*' He also
continued the tradition of the family at Meshed, and
repaired the golden dome which had been damaged by an
earthquake, mentioned by Chardin. In commemoration
of this pious deed an inscription may be read, dated
A.H. 1086 (1676), in which he refers to himself as "The
Reviver of the ancient ruins of his Ancestors." ^

The Musalla, or " Place of Prayer," outside Meshed
was also constructed in this reign. The main arch is
decorated with a long quotation from the Koran in white
letters on a blue background, and on each side near the
ground are ten lines of an inscription with yellow letters
on a blue ground.^ The building is striking even in

its decay.

The Accession of Shah Sultan Husayn^ a.h. i 105 (1694).
— It is stated that when Sulayman lay on his deathbed he
said to his eunuch advisers, " If you wish for ease, elevate
Husayn Mirza ; if you desire the glory of Persia, Abbas
Mirzay Needless to say, the former son was chosen,
and upon his accession he proved a mixture of meekness
and piety, qualities as much out of place as in the case of
Edward the Confessor, his English prototype. He was
also noted for his uxoriousness. The piety of Husayn,
translated into action, placed mullas and eunuchs in the

1 Vol. iii. p. 219.
^ Historical Notes, etc., p. 1137. ^ Ibid. p. 1153.

Lxvi DECLINE OF SAFAVI DYNASTY 303

posts that should have been held by the great nobles, and
the whole nation was thereby dangerously weakened.
The right of sanctuary was extended to all colleges, whose
occupants thus became entided to protect murderers, a
most dangerous privilege ; and the monarch himself re-
fused to order the death penalty. Peace was enjoyed ;
but, sunk in this, the nation did not realize that it was
only the lull before the storm, and when the storm broke
their leaders were not capable of coping with it.

The Embassies of Peter the Great^ a.d. 1708 and 17 15.
— In A.H. 1 120 (1708) Peter the Great despatched an
embassy to the Court at Isfahan, headed by an Armenian
named Israel Orii. This adventurer was accompanied
by a train of 700 followers, many of whom were
merchants who took advantage of the opportunity to
escape customs dues. The size of the embassy and the
aggressive character of the Tsar aroused much alarm at
Isfahan, and a rumour was circulated that it was intended
to seize Georgia and Armenia. The embassy, however,
was received with all honour in spite of its semi-com-
mercial character. Shah Husayn being unable to treat
the envoys of Peter as his ancestor had treated those of
Alexis. Seven years later another embassy reached
Persia, under the talented Artemii Volinski, and, as
will appear in a future chapter, Peter the Great was
evidendy paving the way for action of a distinctly aggres-
sive character.

The Failure in the Persian Gulf. — In the Persian Gulf
the position of Persia was unsatisfactory and weak. Sultan
bin Sayf II., according to the Oman history, "made war
on the enemy by sea and land and encountered the
Persians in many places. . . . He also attacked and took
al-Bahrein." ^ The Persians were helpless without a fleet,
and appealed to the Portuguese, who agreed to render
assistance. The Portuguese, however, were in a very
different position from that which they occupied while
Maskat was in their possession, and on attempting to sail
up the Gulf they were attacked and defeated by the fleet

1 The Imams of Omarif p. 93. Bahrein is the island in this case, and not the
province.

304 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, lxvi

of the Imam.^ Consequently the Persian general, Lutf
Ali Khan, a brother-in-law of Fatteh AH Khan the Vizier,
was obliged to adopt a purely defensive attitude, and to
garrison Bandar Abbas and other ports against the raids
from Oman, which became more and more serious as
time went by.

^ According to Krusinaici, the Portuguese refused to transport the troops, owing to
the non-payment of the sum of money agreed upon.

Mahmud of Ghazni.

CHAPTER LXVII

THE GHILZAIS OF KANDAHAR

As a race the Ghilji mix little with their neighbours, and indeed differ
in many respects, both as to internal government and domestic customs, from
the other races of Afghanistan. . . . The pastoral clans are notoriously
predatory in their habits. — Bel lew, The Races of Afghanistan. *

A Sketch of Afghanistan. — By way of preface to this
chapter, I propose to give a brief description of the
country which, since the middle of the eighteenth century,
has been known as the kingdom of Afghanistan.^ Merk
aptly points out that geographically Afghanistan is the
Switzerland of Asia. In both countries there are great
central masses from which secondary ranges radiate far
and wide, and the Kuh-i-Baba to the north of Kabul may
be compared with the St. Gothard. Both countries lie at
the head of peninsulas stretching south, and both are
isolated from the central continents to their north by high
ranges extending far to the east and west. As geographers
would point out, the physical similarity would make for
political similarity.

Its Inhabitants, — Afghanistan, owing to its physical
characteristics, has been the haven of refuge of aboriginal
clans driven off the fertile plains. Moreover, being
situated at the north-west gates of India, it has heard the
tramp of armies from the invasion by Alexander the
Great down through the centuries, until the doubling of

^ The best general account of Afghanistan is the article by M. Longworth Dames in
the Encyclopaedia of Islam. A good paper was recently read before the Central Asian
Society by W. R. Merk. I have also referred to the contemporary History of the late
Rcvoluticns in Persia by Father Krusinski, which is of considerable value.

VOL. II 305 X

3o6 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

the Cape of Good Hope opened a way for western
nations to invade India by its sea gates.

The dominant population of this interesting land is
termed Pathan, or " Speakers of Pashtu," ' towards the
borders of India, and in the west Afghan, or Aoghan, a
word the derivation of which is obscure. I.ongworth
Dames points out that Pathan is the real name, and that
the term Afghan, first applied by foreigners, appears to
be of literary origin ; it has now been adopted as a polite
designation by the upper classes.

The two great tribes are the Durranis, the present
ruling tribe, and the Ghilzais, or more correctly Ghalzais
(termed Ghilji by Bellew), both of which are referred to
below. These tribes may be roughly described as in-
habiting eastern and southern Afghanistan respectively.
To the north of the Hindu Kush the population is mainly
Uzbeg ; the heart of the country is inhabited by Mongol
Hazaras, Taimani and Chahar Aimak, and the Herat
province by Aryan Tajiks, while east of Kabul, in Wakhan,
Roshan, and above all Kafiristan, there is an ethnological
collection of peoples of the greatest interest, consisting
of ancient Aryan tribes and broken clans which have
taken refuge in these inaccessible mountain valleys. The
population, of perhaps five millions altogether, may be
divided into two equal classes, of Afghan and non-Afghan
elements. The Afghans themselves favour the theory
that they are descended from scions of the royal house
of Judah who were exiled to these distant mountains, but
this is not believed by any serious student of the subject,
and it is safer to accept the view that the foreign elements
were numerous, and that the Afghans are racially of
Aryan origin and link India to the east with Persia to
the west. The Afghans and Uzbegs are Sunnis, whereas
the Persian element and the Hazaras are Shias. More-
over, Pashtu being rather a dialect than a language, the
written language and literature are Persian, which is
spoken by all Afghans of consideration.

The Province of Kandahar, — Our attention is now

^ Pashtu or Pakhtu is the name of the language. The people are called ['ashtOn
or PakhtQn in the singular. The plural of this, Pashtana or Pakhtana, has given rise
to the form Pathan.

Lxvii THE GHILZAIS OF KANDAHAR 307

particularly turned towards the province of Kandahar.
Humayun, by the aid of a Persian army, took Kandahar
in A.H. 952 (1545), and in recognition of the services
rendered to him by Tahmasp, ceded it to his benefactor,
but subsequently took back the gift. Shortly afterwards
the province was annexed by Abbas the Great, but upon
his death it was seized by the Uzbegs through the defec-
tion of its Persian governor, as mentioned in the previous
chapter. The Uzbegs were driven out in a.h. 102 i
(1634) by Shah Jahan, and in turn the province was
recovered by Abbas II. in a.h. 1037 (1650). The
Moghul emperors of India again and again besieged
this veritable " bone of contention," Aurangzeb himself,
on one occasion, taking the field in person. But the
natural strength of the city defied all efforts, and conse-
quently the province still formed part of the Persian
empire in the time of Shah Husayn.

The Ghilzais, — The Ghilzai tribe are a mixed race.^
To-day they number perhaps one hundred thousand
families, and at the period under consideration were the
most powerful tribe in the province of Kandahar. As the
account given of the fortunes of the province proves, its
overlords had been constantly changing, and the wild
Ghilzais at this period were suspected, probably with
good reason, of intriguing with the Court of Delhi.

The Appointment of Gurgin Khan, — It was consequently
decided to appoint George or Gurgin Khan, Prince of
Georgia, to govern this turbulent province, and he marched
into its capital with a powerful army composed of twenty
thousand Persians and a Georgian contingent. No re-
sistance to this overwhelming force was attempted, the
disloyal chiefs were cowed, and the yoke of Persia was
riveted on the province more securely than before. The
inhabitants were treated as conquered rebels, and the
oppression to which they were exposed, together with the
intriguing nature of the chiefs, led to the despatch of
secret missions to Isfahan with complaints against the
harshness of the Governor.

1 The Ghilzais are generally believed to be identical with the Khalj mentioned by
Idrisi, but Longworth Dames considers this very doubtful {•vide his article " Ghalzai " in
Part XX. oi Encyclopaedia of Islam).

3o8 HISTORY OF PERSIA

CHAP.

Mir Vats. — Gurgin Khan, on his side, was fully aware
of the plot, and determined to strike at its head in
the person of Mir Vais (or Wais, as Afghans would
pronounce it), a leading chief of the Ghilzais and heredi-
tary Kalantar^ or Mayor, of Kandahar. Accordingly he
was seized and sent a prisoner to the capital. At the
same time Gurgin wrote that it was necessary for the
peace of the province that this arch-intriguer should be
kept away from Afghanistan. His unusual leniency was
a main cause of the overthrow of Persia ; for Mir Vais
was able through his wealth and his capacity to influence
the Court, and the captive became a favourite of the Shah.

In order to strengthen his position among his fellow-
countrymen, he obtained permission to proceed to Mecca.
There, while performing his pilgrimage, he procured in
writing a decision from the leading doctors of religious
law that it was not only permissible but meritorious to
make war on and to destroy all Shias. Such documents
would even to-day carry immense weight in Afghanistan,
and two centuries ago their potency must have been very
much greater. Upon his return to the capital, Mir Vais
was indirectly aided in his schemes by the embassy of
Peter the Great, recorded in the previous chapter. He
insinuated that it was the intention of that monarch to
seize Armenia and Georgia, and that Gurgin Khan was a
leading conspirator in the plot. The Court, thoroughly
alarmed, dared not dismiss Gurgin Khan, but as a half
measure restored Mir Vais to his former post and in a.h.
1 1 20 (1708) sent him back to Kandahar.

The Murder of Gurgin Khan and the Massacre of the
Persian Garrison^ a.h. 1121 (1709). — Gurgin Khan,
furious at the slight, resolved to take revenge on Mir
Vais, and by this act at once to overawe the province
and to demonstrate his contempt for the Court. Having
heard that the Chief possessed a beautiful daughter, he
suddenly demanded her from her father. The latter
assembled the heads of the tribe, who, moved by indig-
nation, swore death to the Christian tyrant by bread and
salt, by their swords, and by the Koran. Mir Vais
dissembled, and in order to lull his enemy into a sense of

Lxvii THE GHILZAIS OF KANDAHAR 309

false security, sent him a handsome girl whom he passed
off as his daughter. The Prince was entirely duped, and
finding the Chief apparently submissive, relented and
began to treat him with kindness. This gave the crafty
Ghilzai the opportunity he desired. He invited Gurgin
Khan to an entertainment in a garden some distance from
Kandahar. There the guest and his attendants were set
upon and murdered, and the Afghans came at dusk in
their stead to the fort, Mir Vais wearing the clothes
and riding the horse of his victim. Admitted without
suspicion, they surprised the garrison, and, supported by
a preconcerted attack of their fellow-countrymen, they
cut off the Persians almost to a man. A body of Georgian
cavalry, six hundred strong, which happened to be absent
from Kandahar, was attacked on its return three days
later. Performing prodigies of valour, this band of heroes
made good its retreat into Khorasan and confirmed the
news of the disaster to the Persian arms, which had already
thrown the country into a state of panic.^

The Consolidation of Power by Mir Vais, — After his
success Mir Vais showed energy and capacity in con-
solidating his power. He rallied various tribes to his aid
by proclaiming independence, and even more by publish-
ing the documents obtained at Mecca. The contemptible
Court at Isfahan, instead of wiping out the disaster by
force of arms, attempted to treat, but Mir Vais detained
the envoy. " Be assured,'' he told him, " that the hour
of vengeance is at hand ; and that the brave Afghans are
the chosen instruments of God for the punishment of the
heretical Persians."

The councillors of Shah Husayn realized at last
that there was no alternative to war. But at the outset no
serious efforts were made, and the Governor of Khorasan,
who was directed to subdue the rebels, was defeated again
and again. These successes increased the prestige of Mir
Vais and gave him time to strengthen his position.

His Two Victories over Persian Armies. — Goaded finally
into more vigorous action, the Persian Government

^ A somewhat different account of this disaster is given in vol. iv. of Histoire de la
Georgie by M. Brosset.

3IO HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

assembled a powerful army, the command of which was
given to Khusru Khan, Governor of Georgia and nephew
of Gurgin Khan. Advancing on Kandahar, he defeated
Mir Vais and besieged his capital. The Afghans were
ready to submit if a general pardon were proclaimed, but
the Georgian general, thirsting for revenge, insisted upon
an unconditional surrender. In desperation the garrison
prepared to resist to the death, the Persian assaults were
beaten off, and the besieging army, harassed by the foe,
began to suffer from scarcity. Mir Vais was able to take
the field again, and this time he was successful. The
Shah's army was defeated, the Georgian general killed,
and of the twenty-five thousand Persians less than one
thousand escaped. The date of this was a.h. 1123
(171 1). A second army was raised under the command
of Mohamed Rustam, but this force was also defeated,
and Mir Vais by these two victories became the undis-
puted ruler of the province of Kandahar. Apparently
no attempt was made by Persia to collect a third army,
and until his death, which occurred in a.h. 1127 (1715),
the Ghilzai chief was busily engaged in organizing
schemes of further aggrandisement.

Mir Ahdulla^ a.h. ii 28-1 130 (17 15-17 17). — Mir
Vais left two sons, the eldest of whom, Mahmud, was
eighteen years old, but his uncle Abdulla seized the reins
of power. He very soon showed his intention of making
peace with Persia and sent envoys to Isfahan charged with
the task. His stipulations were {a) that all tribute should
be remitted, {h) that no foreign troops should be sent to
Kandahar, and (c) that the post of Governor should be
made hereditary in his family. These negotiations out-
raged many of the Afghans, whose pride in their hard-won
independence was intense, and, knowing that he had the
popular feeling behind him, Mahmud with forty sup-
porters assassinated Mir Abdulla. It is recorded that
after the deed the Nakkara Khana, or music, was played,
that the Chiefs then assembled in council, and after
examining the instructions given by Mir Abdulla to the
Afghan envoys, pronounced his fate to be just, and
proclaimed Mahmud ruler of Kandahar.

LXVII

THE GHILZAIS OF KANDAHAR 311

The Rise of the Abdalis of Herat, — As may be supposed,
the success of Mir Vais had fired other provinces
inhabited by Sunni populations to revolt, and among
them was neighbouring Herat, which under AsaduUa, the
Abdali ^ chief, declared its independence and joined with
the Uzbegs to plunder Khorasan. To meet this invasion,
in A.H. 1132 (171 9) a Persian army, thirty thousand
strong, was raised and placed under the orders of Safi
Kuli Khan, who marched on Herat. On the way he met
and defeated twelve thousand Uzbegs, and this victory
was accepted as a presage of a second and more important
success.

Asadulla Khan, with only fifteen thousand Afghans,
decided to engage the superior Persian force, and there
was a body contested fight until by a mistake the Persian
artillery fired on a body of their own cavalry. > The error
gave rise to a suspicion of treachery, which, reacting on
the army, threw it into confusion. The Afghans, seeing
their chance, made a decisive charge and won the day by
their valour, the Persians losing one-third of their men,
their general, their artillery, and their baggage. The
loss to the Afghans was three thousand, or one-fifth of
the army engaged ; but the Abdalis, like their neighbours
and rivals the Ghilzais, had won their freedom, and hence-
forth constituted a second independent state on the eastern
frontier of Persia. Their relations with the Ghilzais were
unfriendly, and even after the capture of Isfahan they
were successful in taking Farrah from them.

^ This tribe is identical with the Durrani. The popular belief is that Ahmad Shah
changed the name in consequence of a dream and assumed the title of Shah Dur-i-Durran,
or *' Pearl of Pearls."

Shah Husayn.

CHAPTER LXVIII

THE OVERTHROW OF THE SAFAVI DYNASTY

'Tis easy to infer that as Shah Husayn was endow'd with some of the
Qualities and Virtues which adorn a private Man, he had none of those which
are necessary for a Monarch. He was good natur'd and human ; but his good
Nature was of that Stamp which bears with every Thing, and punishes nothing,
and in which the wicked, being assur'd by it of Impunity, find their Account
more than honest Men, whom it deprives of all Hopes of Justice. He hurt no
particular Person, and by that Means injur'd all Mankind. — Father Krusinski
on Shah Husayn.

The First Expedition of Mahmud^ a.h. 1133 (1720).-

The first Afghan expedition ^ into Persia was a raid rather
than an invasion. Mahmud crossed the Lut to the south
of Sistan, and after ravaging Narmashir advanced on
Kerman, which he took by the aid of the Zoroastrian
section of its inhabitants. Lutf Ali Khan, whose failure
against Maskat was mentioned at the end of Chapter LXVI.,
was burning to redeem his reputation. He did not wait
for his main army, but with a body of picked troops
defeated the Afghans and captured their camp ; his
cavalry pursued the routed invaders back to Kandahar.
Thus Mahmud's first attempt ended in disaster. Kerman
was now strongly garrisoned and fortified to prevent its
falling again into the hands of Afghans, and Lutf Ali Khan

' The authorities include the Historical Account of Br'itiih Trade O'ver the Caspian^ by
Jonas Hanway j the History of the late Revolutions in Persia^ by Father Krusinski ; and
the Jahangusha-i-Nadiri, by Miraa Mehdi Khan, Nadir's Chief Secretary.

312

CH. LXVUI

OVERTHROW OF SAFAVI DYNASTY 313

maintained a powerful army ; so that a repetition of the
raid seemed unlikely.

The Disgrace of the Vizier and of Lutf Ali Khan, — The
Persian Empire meanwhile, unconscious of its approaching
doom, continued to be distracted by Court plots and
intrigues. Fatteh Ali Khan, the Vizier, was accused of
treason and of instigating a body of Kurds to kill the
Shah in the night. Husayn, awakened from his sleep,
yielded to panic and gave orders for the Minister to be
executed. The wretched man's eyes were put out and
he was about to be tortured to make him reveal the
whereabouts of his treasure, when the Shah realized that
he had been duped. A council of nobles was summoned,
before whom the Vizier cleared himself fully ; but the
mischief was done. Lutf Ali Khan, his brother-in-law,
who had collected and trained an army for the invasion
of the Kandahar province, was dismissed and, as was usual
in such cases, the army dispersed. Consequently, at this
grave crisis in her history Persia found herself almost
defenceless through the folly of her feeble ruler.

Signs and Portents. — The year a.h. 1134 (1721) was
filled with disaster and foreboding. In Khorasan the
Abdali Afghans raided unchecked, and in the west the
Lesgians sacked Shamakha, the capital of Shirwan. More
disturbing even than raids and the sacking of cities were
the signs and portents that appeared. An earthquake
destroyed ill-starred Tabriz, while the usually clear atmos-
phere became dense, and the sun showed like a blood-red
orb. The superstitious Persians were panic-stricken,
and the astrologers added to their fears by prophesying
the similar destruction of Isfahan. Calamity, terror, the
cowardice of the Shah, the effeminacy of the Court, and
the dearth of generals and soldiers together lowered the
national moral to such a degree that probably no country
has ever been essentially weaker than Iran at this critical
period.

The Second Expedition of Mahmud^ a.h. 1135 (1722).
— The fear of invasion by Lutf Ali Khan had cowed the
Ghilzais ; but on hearing of his downfall they regained
their courage and decided to invade Persia a second time.

314 HISTORY OF PERSIA

Mahmud left Kandahar in mid-winter, and again traversed
the desert to Narmashir and Kerman. On this occasion
he took the city, but the fort resisted so stoutly that he
was glad to accept the trifling sum of ;^5000 and raise
the siege. He then marched on Isfahan by way of
Yezd, which he attacked without success. From Yezd
he took the direct route to the capital, and on the way
was met by envoys who offered ^^30,000 if he and his
band would return to Afghanistan. Encouraged by this
sign of weakness at the heart of the Empire, the invaders
pressed on as far as Gulnabad, a village on a bare feature-
less plain, eleven miles from Isfahan, and there halted.

The Afghan and Persian Armies. — The Afghan army
now consisted of perhaps twenty thousand ^ men. It had
suffered losses by death and desertion at Kerman and
also at Yezd, and the only recruits who had joined it
were a few Zoroastrians. Its artillery was composed of
one hundred zanburak^ or swivels — literally " little wasps "
— mounted on camels and throwing a ball of a little
under two pounds in weight.

The Persian force assembled at Isfahan was more than
double the number and was provided with proper artillery.
Its base was a populous city and it was fighting in defence
of its own hearths. More than this, the fate of Persia
depended on its valour. At a council of war the opinion
at first prevailed that it would be better simply to hold
the capital and allow the Afghans to wear themselves out
against the walls. But the advocates of defensive action
were overruled. The Vali of Arabia insisted upon the
disgrace the Shah-in-Shah would incur if he were afraid
to meet a band of plundering Afghans. In Persia self-
esteem is perhaps stronger than elsewhere, and the Vali's
glowing words were acclaimed and carried the day. To
avoid arousing jealousy, the command of the troops was
divided, and the Persian army, fifty thousand strong,
strengthened by twenty- four guns, marched out to the
plain of Gulnabad.2

1 Krusinski doubles this number, but I follow Malcolm.

2 Many years ago, when camped on the site of this battle, I read how the Persians,
sumptuously armed and splendidly horsed with saddles and stirrups mounted with gold,
laughed to scorn the ragged sun-scorched Afghans. My thoughts went back, to the

LXVIII

OVERTHROW OF SAFAVI DYNASTY 315

The right wing was commanded by another ill-fated
Rustam Khan, the General of the Royal Guards, and the
left wing by the Vizier. Attached to the former was a
body of Arab horse under its Vali, and to the latter a
force under the Vali of Laristan. Both these wings,
together about thirty thousand strong, were mounted.
The centre, consisting of twenty thousand infantry, with
the artillery, completed what appeared to be a formidable
army.

The Afghans were drawn up in four divisions,
Mahmud in the centre being supported by the best
fighting men. On his right was Aman Ulla Khan, while
the left was covered by the Zoroastrians. In the rear
were the hundred swivels.

The Battle of Gulnabad, a.h. 1135 (1722). — The fate-
ful battle of Gulnabad opened with a charge by the
Persian right, which met with some success. Simultane-
ously the Vali of Arabia turned the enemy's left flank
and fell on the Afghan camp, which was plundered, the
Arabs taking no part in the fighting but occupying them-
selves with looting. The Persian left wing also charged,
but the Afghans by a clever manoeuvre unmasked their
camel guns, which caused great havoc, and at the same
moment charged the reeling column. It broke and fled
and the pursuing Afghans wheeled on the rear of the
artillery, which had no escort. The gunners were cut
to pieces and the guns turned on the Persian infantry,
which also broke and fled. No pursuit was attempted,
as the Afghans busied themselves with plundering the
Persian camp, and according to one account feared an
ambush.

Thus ignominiously fled, with a loss of only two
thousand men, a powerful Persian army fighting for
everything that a nation holds dear, and never again did
it dare to face the Afghans in the field. The Persian
nation had ceased to be virile, and the verdict of history
is that when it fell, it fell deservedly through its own
cowardice.

battles fought by the last Sasanian monarchs against the Arabs, and I was struck by
the similarity of the circumstances and conditions.

3i6 HISTORY OF PERSIA

<'fIAl'.

The Capture of Farrahabad and the Capitulation of
Julfa. — The Ghilzai chief was not a great conqueror,
although he overthrew an empire which ranked high in
the world. After the battle he retired to his entrench-
ments and there remained wholly inactive, even allowing
the Persians to return to the battlefield and take away
their lost guns. He had apparently decided to retire.
His spies, however, reported the panic that prevailed in
the capital, and when he realized the true position he
regained his courage and advanced on Isfahan. Some
three miles from the city lay Farrahabad, built as a fort
by Shah Husayn and strongly held ; but instead of using
the position to delay the Afghans, the Persians in their
alarm withdrew the garrison. Julfa, situated on the
right bank of the Zenda Rud, was next attacked. The
Armenians offered a stout resistance and applied for
reinforcements to the Vali of Arabia, who had been
promoted to the supreme command. Owing to fanaticism
or treachery he refused all aid ; a breach was effected and
the Armenians capitulated. They were ordered to pay
the equivalent of ;^ 140,000 in money and to surrender
fifty of their most beautiful virgins, and to both conditions
they consented.

The Investment of Isfahan. — Mahmud's army encamped
opposite the bridges over the Zenda Rud and occupied
the beautiful palaces and gardens erected by the Safavi
monarchs and their nobles. The direct opening attack
on Isfahan was an attempt to secure possession of one of
the stately bridges over the Zenda Rud. At first
Mahmud failed, but in a second effort he was carrying
the bridge when Ahmed Aga, a white eunuch, came to
the rescue and beat back the Afghans. Discouraged by
this failure, Mahmud was prepared to treat on condition
that Kandahar, Khorasan, and Kerman should be handed
over to him in independent sovereignty, and that he
should be given a princess in marriage, with a settlement
in money equivalent to ;^ 100,000. These terms were
rejected, and Mahmud, giving up all idea of further
assaults for the time being, set about devastating the
country and laying in supplies for his army. This he

p
b

Lxviii OVERTHROW OF SAFAVI DYNASTY 317

was apparently permitted to do by the cowardly Persians,
who could at least have cut up any small force and
thereby interfered with these operations. Having
successfully laid waste the thriving villages round Isfahan
and driven their inhabitants into the capital, Mahmud
again made an assault on one of the bridges, and this time
with success, the Georgian garrison being hopelessly
drunk. The Afghans then regularly invested the city,
and Aman UUa Khan intercepted two convoys of food,
sent from Laristan and from the Bakhtiari country.

The Heroic Inhabitants of Ben Isfahan, — A single
gleam of light relieves the otherwise unmixed poltroonery
of the Persian people. Ben Isfahan,^ a village some
ten miles from the capital, declined to surrender. Its
inhabitants did more. They sallied out and attacked
Aman Ulla Khan when he was returning in disorder,
laden with booty from the capture of the Laristan convoy.
Mahmud sent reinforcements, but the bold peasantry
gained a complete victory, killing a number of the enemy
and capturing a brother, an uncle, and two cousins of
Mahmud. Upon hearing of the disaster, the Afghan
leader sent to the Shah to arrange for the release of the
prisoners. This was agreed to, but the messenger the
Shah despatched to Ben Isfahan found that the Afghans
had already been executed. Thereupon Mahmud killed
all his prisoners, and afterwards withdrew to Farrahabad
in a panic. Incompetency or treachery or both prevented
this success from being followed up by an attack on the
discouraged Afghans, and the loss of a third convoy
again dashed the hopes of the Isfahanis. Yet another
blow was the refusal of aid by the Prince of Georgia,
who, incensed at being prevented from punishing the
Lesgians, had sworn never again to draw his sword for
Persia.

The Unsuccessful Mission of Tahmasp Mirza, — Tahmasp
Mirzay the third son of the Shah, was now taken out
of the anderun and proclaimed heir-apparent. With an
escort of six hundred men he broke out of the capital

1 Malcolm states that Ben Isfahan was situated three miles from the capital, but
Bishop Stileman, who very kindly inquired into the matter, has informed me that' it is
one of a group known as Seh Deh, or " Three Villages," some ten miles distant.

3i8 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

and proceeded to Kazvin, where he attempted to raise an
army ; but even the Shah Savan tribe was false to its
oath, and consequently the mission, in which but little
energy was displayed, proved a complete failure.

The Death of the White Eunuch, — Famine now held
Isfahan in its grip, and a crowd collected outside the
anderun and insisted on the Shah's leading them to battle.
Ahmed Aga, the heroic eunuch, diverted the fury of the
mob on to the enemy, whom he attacked with such dash
that he seized some positions of importance. Needless
to say, he was not supported, and when he made the
matter known to the dastardly Shah, he was accused of
meddling in affairs that did not concern him. The
devoted and broken-hearted servant demonstrated to
Shah Husayn that he had been made the dupe of a
treacherous general, and then returned home and took
poison.

Malik Mahmud of Sistan. — Among the successful
adventurers of the period was Malik Mahmud, a scion of
the Keianian family of Sistan. Driven from his native
province, he collected a body of men in the district of
Tun, where the Afshar governor of Meshed attacked him
with a large force. The Keianian chief sallied out with
his handful of supporters, killed the Persian general and
routed his troops ; after this success he became an
independent ruler of the Tun district.

While the Afghans were besieging Isfahan, Malik
Mahmud raised an army of ten thousand men and
marched to Gulnabad. The hopes of the Persians again
rose high, but only to be utterly dashed when the
Keianian chief, bribed by the promise of Khorasan and
Sistan and some valuable presents, deserted his country
in her supreme hour of need and marched off to take
possession of his provinces.

The Surrender of Isfahan, a.h. 1135 (1722). — The
Shah attempted to buy off the invader by accepting the
terms originally proposed by the Afghans, but Mahmud
pointed out that the circumstances had entirely changed
to his advantage. While these negotiations were proceed-
ing Malik Mahmud appeared on the scene, and his

Lxvni OVERTHROW OF SAFAVI DYNASTY 319

desertion of Persia was the beginning of the end. Isfahan
was now suffering terribly from famine, human flesh was
being eaten, and the city was full of the dying and the
unburied dead. At length the Shah decided to surrender.
Clad in deep mourning, he proclaimed to his subjects his
intention to abdicate, and on the following day signed a
capitulation, by the terms of which he resigned the crown
to the victor.

Proceeding to Farrahabad, he was kept waiting by
the ungenerous Afghan, to whom, on being at length
received, he said, " Son, since the great Sovereign of the
Universe does not will that I should reign any longer,
and the moment has come which He has appointed for
thy ascending the throne of Persia, I resign the empire to
tliee. May thy reign be prosperous ! '* He then placed
the royal plume in the turban of the victor, with the
words, " Reign in peace ! '' Mahmud, who had remained
silent, at length deigned to reply, as follows : " Such is
the instability of human grandeur. God disposes of
empires as He pleases : He takes them from one to give
to another ; but I promise to consider you as my father,
and to undertake nothing without your advice." On
the following day the Afghan victor entered Isfahan in
triumph and received the homage of the fallen Husayn
and his nobles.

The Downfall of the Dynasty, — Thus ignominiously
fell the splendid Safavi dynasty. Its founder Ismail was
a great man, and Shah Abbas a still greater ; but it is
important to note that in no instance did the dynasty
embark on a policy of conquest. On its western frontiers
its utmost ambition was to recover Azerbaijan and other
Persian provinces from the Turks, and no attempt was
made to invade Turkey. In the operations against the
Uzbegs, too, there was apparently never any idea of
permanently occupying Central Asia, but only of protect-
ing Khorasan from raids and of restoring the ancient
boundaries of Iran. Further south, Kandahar was orisrin-
ally received as a gift, and here alone can Persian policy
be classed as "forward." To put the matter in another
way, Constantinople was never threatened by a Safevi

320 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, lxvui

force, and Turkish anxiety was never aroused by Persian
/policy, which at most aspired to regain Baghdad or Erivan
' and attempted nothing more than raids to the west of
these strongholds. Beyond the eastern frontiers of Iran,
Samarcand to the north and Delhi to the south were
equally safe from any danger of a Persian invasion. The
Safavis cannot therefore take rank with the Achaemenian
or Sasanian dynasties, which created world empires ; for
they played a secondary r61e on the stage of history and
were content if they maintained the ancient limits of
Persia. Nevertheless, the prestige of the dynasty is very
high among Persians owing to its national and religious
character, and perhaps also to the recognition of its
brilliance by European writers.

ASHRAP.

CHAPTER LXIX

THE EXPULSION OF THE AFGHANS

Their Way of dressing answers to the Coarseness of their Diet. They
wear a Vest, which hangs down to their Toes, and which they tuck up
towards the Waste, under which they have a very wide Pair of Drawers of
plain Linnen, but their Legs are always bare. The better Sort make use of
Shoes or Slippers when they ride on Horseback, as also of a Sort of Boots of
very hard Leather, which when they have fitted on, they never pull off but
there let 'em remain till they rot away. — Krusinski, on the Afghans, vol. i.
p. 147.

The First Acts of Mahmud. — The reign of Mahmud
opened auspiciously. He allowed the Persian officials to
retain their appointments and only added Afghans to
watch his interests. Furthermore, he selected as Kazi, or
Chief Magistrate, an Afghan noted for piety and rectitude,
and he worked hard to repair the damage caused by the
siege. He treated the Europeans with consideration,
renewing all their privileges, and punished all those who
had been disloyal to Shah Husayn. The treacherous
Vali of Arabia was not put to death, Mahmud having
apparendy sworn to preserve his life, but he was disgraced
and his post and estates were bestowed on his younger
brother. In short, so just and so capable was the rule
of Mahmud at the outset that it seemed possible that
unhappy Iran might once again enjoy the blessings of
peace and order.

The Surrender of Kum^ Kashan^ and Kazvin to the
Afghans. — Shortly after the capitulation of Isfahan, Aman
Ulla Khan was detached with five thousand men to attack
Tahmasp Mirza and to seize Kazvin. The spiritless and

VOL. II 321 Y

322 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

disloyal tribesmen had not rallied round the throne ;
consequently no resistance was offered, and Kum, Kashan,
and Kazvin all opened their gates. As a set-off to these
achievements, Mahmud was informed that treasure equiva-
lent to >{^3005000, which he had despatched to Kandahar
to be spent in recruiting his army, had been plundered
by a Sistan chief. Nor was this the Afghan monarch's
only embarrassment.

The Will of Peter the Great, — Among the mysteries
of European history is the celebrated will of Peter the
Great. It is generally believed to have been pubhshed
in Europe through the instrumentahty of the notorious
ChevaHer d'Eon, who obtained it in 1755 while he was
acting as reader to Catherine the Great. It has been
pronounced apocryphal, but by Persians and by many
Russians its genuineness is not doubted. Even if it is
not the actual political testament of Peter, it is accepted
as embodying the national aspirations of Russia in the
first half of the eighteenth century, and as such it deserves
to be studied.^ Its tenor is uniformly aggressive, Russia
being urged to aim at almost universal dominion. We
are here chiefly dealing with the instructions concerning
Persia, which are as follows : " Excite continual wars, not
only in Turkey but in Persia.'' And again : " Sweden being
dismembered, Persia subjugated, etc." These words are
known to every educated son of Iran through a Persian
translation and ring like a knell in his ears. Thus the
will of Peter the Great, although scarcely known in
western Europe, constitutes, so far as Persia is concerned,
an instrument of policy the influence of which can hardly
be overestimated.

The Capture of Derbent by Peter, a.h. 1135 (1722).
— At this period Peter the Great had finally triumphed
over Sweden and was free to turn his arms elsewhere.
Accordingly he hastened to profit by the weakness of
Persia. While the Safavi dynasty was in its death-throes,
he had sent an embassy to Shah Husayn which, on its
arrival, presented itself to the victorious Afghans, demand-
ing redress for alleged grievances, among which were the

^ It is printed in full at the end of this chapter.

Lxix EXPULSION OF THE AFGHANS 323

plunder of a Russian carayan by the Khan of Khiva and
the losses sustained by Russian subjects at Shamakha.
Mahmud, whose knowledge of foreign policy must have
been slight, informed the Muscovite ambassadors that he
could control neither the Uzbegs nor the Lesgians. The
fact was self-evident, but the admission strengthened the
case for a forward policy, and Peter felt justified in acting
upon it. He descended the Volga in a flotilla carrying
thirty- three thousand infantry and effected a junction in
Daghestan with a force of cavalry which had marched from
Astrakhan.^ He issued a proclamation in which he de-
clared that he had no designs of territorial aggrandisement,
after which he took possession of Derbent, the importance
of which has already appeared in this history. The Tsar
was proceeding towards Shamakha and Baku when an
Ottoman ambassador appeared on the scene, .announced
the capture of Shamakha by a Turkish force, and declared
that any further advance by Russia would be deemed a
casus belli, Peter was unwilling to provoke hostilities with
Turkey at this juncture and withdrew to Russia, leaving a
garrison of three thousand men at Derbent.

His Occupation of Resht and Baku, a.d. 1723. — During
the following winter Resht was besieged by the invading
Afghans. Its Governor sent an envoy to Astrakhan and
offered to open the city gates to a Russian army. Peter
at once took advantage of this piece of good fortune, and
occupied not only Resht but other centres. The adminis-
tration of the province, however, was not interfered with,
but remained in the hands of the local Khans. During
the summer that followed the occupation of Resht, Baku
was bombarded and capitulated.

The Treaty of Shah Tahmasp with Russia^ a.d. 1723.

Tahmasp, unable to meet the invaders in the field, made
a bid for the support of Peter. In return for the expul-
sion of the Afghans, to which Russia pledged herself,
Tahmasp agreed to cede Shirwan, Daghestan, Gilan,
Mazanderan, and Astrabad. But no attempt was made
by Peter to expel the Afghans, nor were any of the pro-

^ A good account of this expedition is given in the Memoir of P. H. Bruce a
Scottish soldier of fortune who took part in the campaign.

324 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

viiices occupied except Gilan. Probably neither side in-
tended to observe the conditions of this treaty loyally.

The Persian Insurrection at Kazvin, a.h. 1136 (1723).
— At Kazvin the Afghans were dealing with a population
which was more virile than that of Isfahan, but, being
ignorant or careless of this circumstance, they treated its
citizens with cruelty and oppression. Consequently, in
a short time a well-planned insurrection broke out, the
Afghans were attacked simultaneously, and were driven
from the city with the loss of two thousand men and all
their baggage. Ashraf, son of Mir Abdulla, returned to
Kandahar with three hundred men, and the remainder
retired on Isfahan, suffering severely from the cold.

This disaster and various defections left only about
fifteen thousand men at Mahmud's disposal at this crisis.
Comparatively few recruits had come from Kandahar to
fill up his depleted regiments, whereas large bands of men
had gone home laden with plunder. Three large caravans
in all reached Isfahan during his reign, in the last of
which was his mother, who " came to the principal Gate
of the new King's Palace half naked, and what cloaths she
had all in Tatters, ravenously gnawing a great Radish she
held in her hand more like a Witch than the Mother of
a great King." ^

The Massacres at Isfahan, a.d. 1723. — Mahmud wished
to hold Isfahan at all costs, and he determined to massacre
a large number of its citizens, thinking that he would be
able to rule by the terror inspired in a reduced and
leaderless population. In pursuance of this fiendish plan,
the day after the return of the defeated Afghans the
Persian Ministers and great nobles, with only two or
three exceptions, were invited to a feast, where they were
massacred, and their corpses were afterwards thrown into
the Great Square. Mahmud's next step was to massacre
three thousand Persian guards whom he had taken into
his pay. No sooner was this effected than an order was
issued to put to death every Persian who had served Shah
Husayn. This awful edict resulted in an indiscriminate
massacre which continued for fifteen days without any

^ Krusinaki.

Lxix EXPULSION OF THE AFGHANS 325

attempt at resistance being made, and thus the royal city
was depopulated and rendered powerless. The English
and Dutch factories were harshly treated and made to
pay forced contributions. The Armenians of Julfa were
compelled to pay a second contribution, and the Indian
merchants were plundered.

The Capture of Shiraz^ a.h. 1137 (1724). — Mahmud
next enlisted some of the wild Kurds who, being Sunnis,
were ready to serve under his standard. Mainly by their
aid he reconquered the cities of Khonsar and Kashan,
which had rebelled after the disaster at Kazvin. Meanwhile
a detachment was conquering Fars, but Shiraz held out.
NasruUa, the leader of the Zoroastrian contingent, was
killed while taking part in an assault, and in his honour
his slaves and the prisoners were put to death at his
funeral. His successor, Zabbardast Khan," was more
fortunate. He beat off a relieving force under a brother
of the Vali of Arabia, and negotiations for surrender
followed. While these were in progress he observed that
the soldiers had quitted their posts ; he thereupon broke
off the negotiations and captured Shiraz. Although famine
had caused the city to surrender, a large store containing
a three months' supply of grain was found, and its owner
by way of punishment was bound to a stake and left to
die of hunger in his own granary. Even to-day this
story is remembered against the Shirazis.

An Attack on Bandar Abbas. — A detachment was next
sent to attack Bandar Abbas. The inhabitants fled, but
the European factories, which had beaten off a large horde
of Baluchis in the previous year, were too strong to be
attempted, and the Afghans having gladly accepted some
supplies retired, suffering heavy losses from the bad
climate. Encouraged by the capture of Shiraz, Mahmud
took the field in person and marched on the Kuhgelu
district to the north of Behbehan ; but the Arab nomads
harassed his army, which suffered also from the heat near
the coast, and he was forced to retreat to Isfahan, which
he re-entered by night.

Afghan Intrigues, — The prestige of Mahmud was
seriously weakened by this unsuccessful campaign and

326 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

also by the failure of an attack on Yezd. He had been
obliged by his nobles to recall Ashraf from Kandahar
and to declare him his heir. Moreover, Aman UUa
Khan had deserted his standard, and though he had
made a pretence of reconciliation it was obviously hollow.
Mahmud, to ease his mind, retired into a vault for the
ascetic contemplation known as Tapassia^ and after four-
teen days of this existence his mind became totally
unhinged.

The Massacre of the Safavi Princes. — Hitherto the
blood royal had been spared in the awful massacres, but
Mahmud, crediting a false rumour of the flight of Safi
Mirza^ now gave orders for the execution of the entire
royal family except the wretched Husayn. With his own
hands he began this extermination, in which thirty-nine
members of the unfortunate dynasty are stated to have
perished.

The Death of Mahmud^ a.h. 1137 (1725). — This was
the last recorded act of Mahmud, whose madness in-
creased after his bloody work had been carried through.
The Afghan nobles, threatened with an attack by Tahmasp,
hastily elected Ashraf to the throne, and Mahmud died
shortly afterwards, or possibly was killed by the orders
of Ashraf.

His Appearance and Character. — Krusinski, who un-
doubtedly saw Mahmud, gives the following graphic
description of him : " He was middle siz d, and pretty
squat : his Face broad, his Nose flattish, his Eyes blue
and squinting a little, his Look fierce. His Physiognomy
had something rough and disagreeable in it, discovering
a Cruelty in his Nature. His neck was so monstrously
short, that his Head seem'd to grow to his Shoulders.
He had scarce any Beard ; and what he had was carotty.
His Eyes were generally down-cast, and he look'd always
as if he was musing.

" He was extremely severe in military Discipline : more
fear'd than belov'd by his Soldiers ; they valued him for

^ Tapassia is a Sanscrit word from tap^ worship. It is adopted by the Moslem
Dervishes from the Hindus, and signifies that the spirit temporarily leaves the body
and becomes united with the godhead. There is a chapter in the Shastra on this
subject.

iiiJsVj

Lxix EXPULSION OF THE AFGHANS 327

his Intrepidity in braving the greatest Dangers, and cry'd
him up as a Man capable of the boldest Enterprizes, and
whose Boldness was generally successful." ^

Few conquests have been more extraordinary than
that of Mahmud. Previous conquerors of Iran, such as
Chengiz and Tamerlane, had created a powerful force
before attempting the task ; but Mahmud captured
Isfahan, and subsequently most of central and southern
Persia, with twenty thousand Afghans and without much
backing from Kandahar. The cowardice, effeminacy, and
corruption of Persia as represented by the Safavi dynasty
was the true cause of its downfall ; for, as Malcolm says,
the Persian Empire resembled " a vast fabric tottering to
its fall."

Of Mahmud himself, with the exception of the first
few months of just rule after the capitulation of Isfahan,
little good can be said. He was treacherous, narrow-
minded, lacking in generosity and indeed in almost all the
qualities which stamp a great conqueror ; on the other
hand, he was brave and energetic. Like Afghans in
general, he was entirely deficient in administrative
qualities and his mind was quite uncultivated. Finally,
the massacres for which he was responsible have consigned
his memory to wholly justifiable execration.

The Tuj'kish Invasion of Georgia^ a.d. 1 722- 1 723. — After
the death of Murad IV., the relations between Persia and
Turkey were friendly for nearly a century. But when
the Afghans invaded Iran, the Sunni power determined
to take advantage of the impotence of the Shia state. An
excellent opening was found in the province of Shirwan,
whose Sunni population had been cruelly persecuted by
the orders of the fanatical Husayn. The Sultan decided
to appoint a governor to the province, and the officer
charged with the task of conveying the Imperial orders
had been despatched when information was received of
the expedition of Peter the Great. After some negotia-
tions between Turkey and Russia, conducted in Constanti-
nople, the Turks decided to declare war against Persia,
and three futwas^ or proclamations, were issued by the

* ii. p. 159.

32 8 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

mufti^ which ordered the true believers to extirpate the
heretics. Simultaneously with the Russian operations on
the littoral of the Caspian Sea, the Turkish troops entered
Georgia, and Tiflis surrendered in a.h. 1135 (1723).
Ganja was afterwards besieged, but without success, and
at Baku the Turks were forestalled by the Russians.

The Russo-Turkish Treaty for the Dismemberment of
Persia^ a.d. 1724. — Negotiations between Turkey and
Russia were resumed and culminated in an agreement for
the partition of the most valuable provinces of Persia.
In the north, the cession by Tahmasp to Russia of the
Caspian provinces to the confluence of the Kur with the
Araxes was confirmed by the two powers. Turkey took
up the new frontier line from this point and drew it close
to the west of Ardebil so as to include Tabriz, which,
with Hamadan and Kermanshah and all the districts
between them and the Turkish frontier, was to be
included within the Ottoman empire. It was cynically
agreed that, if Tahmasp consented to these conditions, he
should be aided to recover his throne. If, however, he
proved obdurate, the two powers were to provide for the
future tranquillity of Persia by raising to the throne which-
ever candidate was held to be most deserving.

The Conquest of Western Persia by the Turks ^ a.d.
1724-1725. — After the conclusion of the treaty by which
Persia was thus partially dismembered, it remained for
the Turks to make good the possession of their share,
Russia having already occupied the western part of her
portion. The Turkish army first marched on Hamadan,
which fell after a short siege in a.h. i 136 (1724). Mean-
while a second Turkish force had advanced on Erivan,
which was justly regarded as the strongest fortress in the
country. Operations were pushed on with the utmost
determination, and in spite of the loss of twenty thousand
men in four assaults and by disease Erivan was taken in
A.H. 1 137 (1724) after a three months' siege ; the garrison
marched out with the honours of war.

The victorious army was now directed against Tabriz.
A Persian force ten thousand strong was defeated outside
the city, which seemed likely to be taken without much

Eugene Flandin.
HAMADAX WITH MOUxXT ALVAXD IX THE BACKGROUXD.

Lxix EXPULSION OF THE AFGHANS 329

difficulty, as owing to an earthquake its walls had fallen
down. But the brave garrison contrived to intercept a
body of troops marching with a convoy from Aleppo, and
as assaults failed the siege was temporarily raised in
September 1724. In the summer of the following year a
Turkish army seventy thousand strong again appeared on
the scene. The defence was heroic, the Persians losing
thirty thousand men and the Turks twenty thousand, but
the besiegers at length gained possession of almost the
whole city. Ultimately terms were arranged by which
the Tabrizis marched out with their families and property,
leaving their deserted abodes to the victors. Had the
citizens of Isfahan displayed a tithe of the courage shown
by the Tabrizis — who are of Turkish rather than of
Persian stock — the invasion of Mahmud would un-
doubtedly have ended in failure.

The Turks subsequently rounded off their conquests
so that the whole of western Persia was in their hands.

The Accession of Ash raf a.h. 1137 (1725) . — Ashraf
was of a different calibre from Mahmud, and in many
ways resembled his uncle, Mir Vais. He enjoyed great
prestige among his fellow-tribesmen, whose moral was
restored by his accession to the throne. His first act was
to kiU the too capable Aman Ulla and other powerful
chiefs, whose fortunes he confiscated. To conciliate the
Persians he played the part of a generous monarch,
anxious to atone for the misdeeds of his predecessor. In
pursuance of this policy the mother of Mahmud was
obliged, as an act of atonement, to pass a night in the
Royal Square close to the corpses of the Safavi princes,
which were then buried with much pomp in the sacred
shrine of Kum. To complete the playing of his part,
Ashraf begged Husayn to resume the crown, and only
after repeated requests by the fallen Safavi monarch did
he place the symbol of royalty on his own head.

During the reign of Mahmud, Ashraf had treacher-
ously opened negotiations with Tahmasp. He now
attempted to lure him into his power, and had almost
succeeded when the Prince was secretly warned and
saved himself by flight. Ashraf used this as a pretext to

330 HISTORY OF PERSIA

CHAP.

put to death the few Persian nobles who had escaped the
previous massacres. He then occupied himself in con-
solidating his power, and constructed a strong fort in
Isfahan to serve both as a refuge and rallying-point for
the Afghans and their families, and also as a treasury.

The Victory of Ashraf over the Turks, a.h, 1138 (1726).
— The position of affairs in Persia at this period was
interesting. Ashraf held Isfahan, Shiraz, and south-east
Persia generally, but can hardly be said to have ad-
ministered the country. His army received but few
recruits from Kandahar, which was governed by Husayn,
brother of Mahmud ; he was consequently restricted to
a defensive poHcy. Shah Tahmasp was in Mazanderan
and was still obliged to remain more or less a spectator of
events, although Fath Ali Khan, the Kajar Chief, had
thrown in his lot with him, and a force was being gradually
recruited. The Russian Government under Catharine
was determined to maintain its position in Persia, but
there was no thought of fulfilling the terms of the treaty
with Turkey. The Ottoman Government alone pursued
a forward policy.

Ashraf had sent an embassy to remonstrate at the action
of a Sunni power in co-operating with a Christian state to
attack a Sunni neighbour with the avowed purpose of
restoring the heretical Shia dynasty. In spite of the pro-
Afghan feeling aroused in Constantinople, the ambassador
of Ashraf, who took a very high tone, was dismissed, war
was declared, and a Turkish army, after seizing Maragha
and Kazvin, advanced on Isfahan. Ashraf, \yhose military
qualities were considerable, attacked and cut to pieces a
detached body of the Turks two thousand strong, and this
success produced a considerable moral effect, besides
causing Ahmad Pasha, the Turkish general, to halt and
entrench his position.

In order to excite dissensions among the enemy, the
cunning Afghan despatched four venerable mullas, who
asked Ahmad Pasha why he was warring on Moslems
who were obeying the divine precepts of the law in sub-
verting the power of the heretical Shias. To this
awkward question a reply was given that he was acting by

Lxix EXPULSION OF THE AFGHANS 331

orders of the Caliph, to whom Ashraf must submit under
pain of feeling his power. So upset were the Turks by
this mission that a body of them deserted together with a
large contingent of Kurds. Ahmad Pasha, who had sixty
thousand men and seventy guns, decided to force a
general engagement without further delay. The Afghans,
with only one-third of this number and forty "little
wasps," fought superbly and won, killing twelve thousand
Turks in the battle. With consummate diplomacy the
victor refused to allow any pursuit, and even released his
prisoners and restored all the personal property of the
vanquished Turks. This masterly moderation produced
a strong feeling in his favour, and a treaty was concluded
in A.H. 1 140 (1727), in which Ashraf acknowledged the
Sultan as Caliph, and was himself recognized in return as
Shah of Persia. The provinces held by Turkey were all
ceded to the Sultan. In other words, Persia was dis-
membered. The boundary between the Turkish and
Russian acquisitions was fixed later by the two powers.

Shah Tahmasp joined by Nadir Kuli, a.h. 1139(1727). —
The Afghan monarch was no sooner freed from the fear
of the Turks than he was confronted with an even more
serious danger. One source of extreme weakness was his
failure to secure the city of Kandahar. This lessened, if
it did not altogether stop, the stream of Afghan recruits ;
it is indeed curious to notice how little initiative the
Afghan tribes displayed, for few came to Persia even after
the capture of Isfahan. At this juncture Tahmasp, who
held his Court at Farrahabad in Mazanderan, was joined
by Nadir Kuli, who was destined to achieve fame as the
last great Asiatic conqueror. He brought with him five
thousand war-hardened Afshars and Kurds. Fath Ali
Khan Kajar had already collected three thousand men,
recruits flocked in, and a national reaction began.

The Conquest of Khorasan by Nadir Kuli. — Nadir per-
suaded the young Shah in the first place to march into
Khorasan, where the sacred city of Meshed and Herat
were in the hands of Malik Mahmud and of the Abdali
Afghans respectively. On the march he killed his rival,
Fath Ali Khan, grandfather of the founder of the present

332 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

dynasty, whose tomb I have visited near Meshed.^ This
act was evidently approved by the Shah, who immediately
appointed Nadir his Commander-in-Chief. In this
campaign success returned to the Safavi arms, both
Meshed and Herat were reduced, as will be narrated in
the next chapter, and among the honours heaped on
Nadir was the title of Tahmasp Kuli Khan, Kuli signifying
a " slave.'*

The Defeat of the Afghans at Mehmandost, am, 1141
(1729). — Meanwhile Ashraf was collecting his troops, fully
realizing that he must once again stake everything on a
decisive battle. Owing to home troubles and the necessity
of garrisoning important centres, his field army was only
thirty thousand strong. One half of this force was com-
posed of Afghans, and owing to the recent brilliant victory
gained over the Turks the moral of his veterans must have
been high.

Nadir had wisely persuaded the Shah to draw the
Afghan force from Isfahan, and the event proved his
sagacity. Ashraf, realizing that the Persian army was
daily increasing in numbers, decided to march into
Khorasan before it became too strong, and Damghan,
situated near the Parthian capital Hecatompylus, was the
scene of the first of many victories in which the arms of
Iran, after a humiliating eclipse, were victorious against
a foreign foe. The Afghans charged with savage shouts,
but made no impression on the veterans trained by Nadir,
whose musketry and artillery fire inflicted heavy losses.
Ashraf immediately detached two columns to make a
circuit on the right and left of the enemy, while he him-
self again charged the front. Nadir was far too ex-
perienced a general to allow these tactics to succeed.
Beating oflF the attacks with ease, he ordered a general
advance, which broke the Afghans, who were discouraged
by the death of their leader's standard-bearer. Leaving
their camp to the enemy, they fled panic-stricken and
with reduced numbers along the road to Teheran, where
it is said they arrived in two days' time — a distance of
two hundred miles. This battle is known as the battle

^ "Historical Notes on Khorasan," Journal R.j^.S., Oct. 1910.

Lxix EXPULSION OF THE AFGHANS 333

of Mehmandostj from a river which divided the two
armies.

The Second Defeat of the Afghans at Murchakhar^ a.h.
1 141 (1729). — The defeated army retired on Isfahan,
where Ashraf collected all the families and property of
the Afghans into the fort. Then, taking up an entrenched
position at Murchakhar, thirty-six miles to the north, he
prepared to fight a decisive battle for his throne.

Nadir prevailed on Tahmasp to remain at Damghan,
and himself marched south from Teheran. Hailed as
the deliverer of Iran, he was joined by hundreds of men
anxious to be in at the death of the invaders. He found
the Afghans in a strong position, but their numbers were
small and Nadir's victorious tribesmen would suffer no
denial. The Afghans fought bravely, but, after losing
four thousand men, broke and fled to Isfahaa. There
they prepared for flight, and before sunrise a huge caravan
carrying their families and treasure left Isfahan for Shiraz.
The helpless Husayn was put to death by Ashraf before
he departed.

The Reoccupation of Isfahan. — Nadir did not follow up
the defeated army into Isfahan, for reasons which remain
obscure. Not until he heard of the flight of the Afghans
did he despatch a body of troops to take possession of
the palace, and he delayed his own entry into the capital
until three days after his victory. His arrival was the
signal for the destruction of the mausoleum erected over
Mahmud, whose corpse was disinterred. The tomb was
made a repository for filth by the instructions of Nadir,
who little thought that his own resting-place would one
day receive like treatment. Tahmasp, who had followed
the Persian army to Teheran, made his entry into Isfahaa
shortly after Nadir, and we read that he burst into tears,
as he visited the defaced palaces of the Safavis. A
dramatic surprise was in store for the young Shah, who
was suddenly greeted by his mother. She had disguised
herself as a slave, and for a period of seven years had
acted her part without being discovered.

The Final Rout of the Afghans^ a.h. 1142 (1730).

The Afghans were allowed ample time to rally at Shiraz^

334 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Tahmasp urged Nadir to pursue them, but the astute
General demanded the power of levying taxes before he
would consent to quit Isfahan. For a while the Shah
demurred at ceding this authority, which gave his Com-
mander-in-Chief almost sovereign powers. But at length
he yielded, and Nadir once again marched to give battle
to the Afghans, who made a last stand at Zarghan, some
twenty miles to the north of Shiraz. The Ghilzais attacked,
but were again repulsed by the heavy musketry fire ; they
broke when charged by Nadir, and a few hours later reached
Shiraz in complete disorder. Ashraf wished to treat for
a retirement with the honours of war, but Nadir replied
that all the Afghans would be killed unless they sur-
rendered their leader. The Ghilzai Khans basely agreed
to this demand, but Ashraf saved himself for a time by
suddenly breaking away with two hundred followers.
This was the signal for the army to disperse in bands,
which under their respective chiefs followed separate routes,
mainly towards Kandahar. The Persian pursuit was
successful, the fleeing Afghans being easily tracked by
the camels which had broken down and died, and even
by the corpses of old men and children who, when tired
out, had been put to death to save them from the ven-
geance of the Persian horsemen.

The 'Death of Ashraf^ a.h. 1142 (1730). — Lar and
Kerman then rose, and Ashraf, realizing that all hope of
maintaining his position even in these remote provinces
was ended, attempted to reach his native province by way
of Sistan. But the Baluchis, who had at one time been
his allies, were now ready to plunder the defeated and
demoralized Afghans. Ashraf was found by a young
Baluch Khan wandering about in the Lut with only two
attendants, and was at once killed. His head, together
with a large diamond found upon him, was sent as a
gift to Shah Tahmasp, who must have rejoiced at the
retribution that had befallen the slayer of his unfortunate
father.

Ashraf had played his part on the stage well, and his
misfortunes were due less to his own mistakes than to
circumstances over which he had no control. Having

EXPULSION OF THE AFGHANS 335

failed, he was fortunate in his speedy death. Few of
the invaders escaped. One division attempted to get
away by sea, but was cut to pieces at Bahrein when
it landed, and individual survivors were found years
afterwards eking out a miserable existence at Maskat.

The Flight of the Afghayis, — Thus in a torrent of blood
the Afghans were drowned. They had achieved a re-
markable conquest with slender means, and, had their
fellow- tribesmen joined them in sufficient numbers, they
might have held their own for some time against the
national revival. But their barbarous organi2^tion, while
good enough for conquest, massacre, and destruction, was
totally incapable of administering the kingdom they had
won so easily. The invaders remained, therefore, a
numerically small band of hated aliens, which, even under
a fine leader like Ashraf, could not stand against the
troops of Nadir.

The Will of Peter the Great

Preliminary Clause. — In the name of the most holy and indivis-
ible Trinity, we Peter L, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias,
to all our descendants to the throne and government of the Russian
nation. The All- Powerful, to whom we owe our existence,
makes us regard the Russian people which is constantly guided by
His light, and sustained by His Divine support, as called in the
future to be the dominant race in Europe. This idea strikes us
from the fact that European nations haye for the greater part
arrived at a state of old age allied to decav, or at all events this
approaches them with rapid strides. From this it results that they
ought to be easily and assuredly conquered by a young and new
people, when the latter shall have attained all their force and
power.

I regard the approaching invasion of the Western and Oriental
nations by the North as a periodic movement decreed and designed
by Providence, who in such a manner regenerated the Roman
people by means of an invasion of barbarians. This emigration of
men from the direction of the Pole is like the reflux of the Nile,
which at certain times nourishes with its mud the western land
of Egypt, I ha\'e found Russia to be this river, and so I leave
her. My successors will make her a great sea destined to
fertilize impoverished Europe, and if my descendants know how
to direct the waters, her waves will break through any opposing

336 HISTORY OF PERSIA

CHAP.

banks. It is just for this reason that I leave the following
instructions, and I recommend them to the attention and constant
observation of my descendants.

I. To keep Russia in a state for continual vi^ar, to hold the
soldier ever ready, and never give him rest except for the purpose
of recovering the finances of the country and the improvement
of the army. To choose the most favourable moment for attack,
to follow up peace by war, and war by peace, in the interest,
aggrandisement, and growing prosperity of Russia.

II. To entice by every means possible from the cleverest
people of Europe officers during war and savants during peace,
in order to improve the Russians at the expense of other nations
without losing her own advantages.

III. To take part on every occasion in the affairs and discus-
sions of Europe, whatever they may be, and especially in those
concerning Germany, who as our most intimate neighbour
interests us more directly.

IV. To divide Poland, and keep up in that kingdom a
constant disorder and continual jealousy, gain over the other
Powers at the price of gold, influence the Polish assemblies and
corrupt them, so as to obtain an interest in the election of kings,
to name partisans and protect them as an excuse for the entry of
Muscovite troops there, to remain until the day arrives for a
permanent occupation. If the neighbouring Powers put forth
difficulties, tranquillize them for a moment by dividing the
country until we can retake as much of it as we have given up
to them.

V. To take as much as we can of Sweden, and induce her
to attack us, in order that we may have the pretext for subjugat-
ing her. For this purpose we must isolate Denmark from Sweden,
and favour the rivalry between these countries.

VI. To choose always German princesses for our princes in
order to promote family alliances, reunite our interests, and so
bring Germany over to our cause for the augmentation of our
influence.

VII. To give the preference to an alliance with England for
commerce, she being the Power which has the greatest need of
us for her marine, while at the same time she can be most useful
to us for the development of our own. To exchange our wood
and products for her gold, and establish continual relations be-
tween us with regard to her merchandize, her sailors, and our
own, which will be in the interest of this country for navigation
and commerce.

VIII. To extend ourselves without ceasing towards the North
along the Baltic, and also towards the South along the Black Sea.

IX. To approach as near as possible to Constantinople and

Lxix EXPULSION OF THE AFGHANS 337

India. Whoever governs there will be the true sovereign of the
world. Consequently excite continual wars, not only in Turkey,
but in Persia. EstabHsh dockyards on the Black Sea, seize
upon little pieces near this sea as well as on the Baltic, which
is doubly necessary for the attainment of our project. And in
the decadence of Persia, penetrate as far as tne Persian Gulf,
re-establish if it be possible the ancient commerce with the
Levant, advance as far as India, which is the depot of the world.
Arrived at this point, we shall have no longer need of England's ,

gold.

X. To endeavour to maintain with care the alliance with the
house of Austria, appear to support her in her policy of future
domination in Germany, and foster below the surface the jealousy
of the princes. Endeavour to induce her to demand the assistance
of Russia by one means or another, and to exercise over the
country a species of protection which may prepare for future
domination.

XL To interest the house of Austria in driving the Turk out
of Europe, to neutralize her jealousies at the moment of the
conquest of Constantinople, either by exciting her to war with
the great Powers of Europe, or by giving her a portion of the
conquest, which we will retake from her at a later period,

XII. To endeavour to reunite around us all the disunited and
schismatic Greeks who are scattered over Hungary or Turkey or
the middle of Poland, to be their centre, their support, to establish
in advance an universal predominance by means of a kind of
automatic or sacerdotal supremacy as a friend to each enemy.

XII I. Sweden being dismembered, Persia subjugated, Poland
crushed, Turkey conquered, our army reunited, the Black Sea and
Baltic guarded by our ships, we must then propose separately,
and very secretly, first to the Court of Versailles, then to that
of Vienna, to share with them the empire of the universe. If
one of the two accept, which is nearly certain, by flattering her
ambition and national vanity, to make use of her for crushing
the other. Finally, to annihilate in her turn the one which
remains, by commencing a struggle which cannot be perilous,
Russia possessing already all the Eastern or greater portion of
Europe.

XIV. If (which is not impossible) each of these powers should
refuse the project of Russia, we must know how to excite them to
quarrel one with the other, and so act that they may enfeeble
themselves through each other. Then, taking advantage of the
decisive moment, Russia must advance her troops, now reunited,
on Germany, at the same time send two considerable fleets, one
starting from the sea of Azof and the other from Archangel with
Asiatic troops ; through the assistance of these armed fleets,

VOL. II z

338 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.lxix

advancing by the Mediterranean and the ocean, France will be
invaded on one side, Germany on the other. These two countries
conquered, the rest of Europe will pass easily and without striking
a blow beneath the yoke. It is thus that we can, and we ought
to, subjugate Europe.^

1 I am indebted to Col. H. Picot for the above translation.

Nadir Shah.

CHAPTER LXX

THE RISE OF NADIR KULI TO THE THRONE OF PERSIA

We find a man, whose birth and beginning were so obscure as with
difficulty to be traced out j conducting to an issue, with resolution and steadiness,
opportunities he had worked out for himself ; planning with d^iberation and
foresight, the fabrick of his future fortune ; and carrying his designs into
execution, with an unwearied application, till, like other mighty conquerors
before him, he became terrible to Asia and the undoubted arbiter of the East.
— Hanway, on Nadir Shah.

The Origin and Birthplace of Nadir Ku/i. — Nadir
Shah, the last great Asiatic conqueror, was born and bred
in Khorasan, which he ever regarded as his home. I
have visited the site of his birth and also Kalat-i-Nadiri
and other districts specially connected with the great
Afshar, some of whose descendants I also know. Con-
sequently I am able to give stories and legends of the
hero, whose name still looms very large in Khorasan, as
told me by various Persian friends.^

Nadir Kuli, or "The Slave of the Wonderful," the
adjective being one of the many epithets of the Deity,
was the son of Imam Kuli, a humble member of the
Kirklu tribe which, owing to its weakness, united with
the more powerful Afshar tribe. The home of Imam

^ The authorities for this period include the Historical Account of British Trade over
the Caspiariy containing a Life of Nadir Shah by J. Hanway j the Life of Nadir Shah and
a historical novel, The Kiailbash, by J. B. Fraser j a paper in the R.A.S. (Jan. 1908),
and a historical novel, Nadir Shah, by Sir Mortimer Durand. In Historiens Arminiens^
by M. Brosset, there is a valuable contemporary account of Nadir Shah by Abraham of
Crete, and in vol. v. of Histoire de la Georgie^ by the same author, there is a letter written
by Heraclius II. to his sister, in which the Indian campaign is described. Of Oriental
writers the jfahangusha-i'Nadiriy by Mehdi Khan, is most valuable, and so in a lesser
degree are the Memoirs of Abdulkurreem. Finally, I have been given notes by Said Ali
Khan Chapashlu of Darragaz, whose ancestor was a favourite general of Nadir Shah's.

339

340 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Kuli was a hamlet termed Kupkan, situated on the south
side of the Allah ho Akbar range, on the road which runs
from Kuchan to Darragaz. There he earned his living
by making sheepskin coats, and by grazing a few sheep
and goats near his village in the summer and in the
warmer plains to the north in winter. Imam Kuli and
his wife were moving with the members of their tribe
from the heights of the Allah ho Akbar range to the
neighbourhood of low-lying Abivard in the autumn of
iioo (1688), and when they were encamped close to
the little town of Mohamedabad,^ the future Shah was
born.

His Captivity and Escape, — The youth of Nadir Kuli
was spent in tending flocks and bringing in fuel on an
ass and a camel which constituted the sole patrimony of
his family after the death of his father. When he was
about eighteen years of age, he and his mother were
carried off by a raiding party of Uzbegs to Khiva, where
four years later his mother died in slavery. The young
Nadir Kuli contrived to escape and returned penniless to
Khorasan, where he climbed the first step up the ladder
of success by entering the service of Baba Ali Beg,
Ahmadlu Afshar, who was Governor of Abivard, at that
period the capital of the district.^

Appointment to Abivard, — Malik Mahmud, after
leaving Isfahan to its fate, as mentioned in Chapter
LXVIIL, had soon found an opportunity of seizing
Meshed, which had fallen a prey to anarchy. Once
secure in his possession of the sacred city, he prepared a
crown fashioned like that of the Keianis, and established
himself as an independent ruler with a regular army of
infantry, artillery, and cavalry. It happened that in the
absence of Baba Ali Beg, one of his mamurs or officials
came to Abivard and ill-treated the family of the Governor.
Nadir Kuli immediately came to the rescue and killed the
official. His master, upon his return, was in great
perplexity ; but Nadir with remarkable courage proposed

1 This is now termed Kala Kuhna^ or "Old Fort," and is perhaps a mile from the
present town.

2 Abivard or Bavard is now a ruin, situated in the vicinity of Kahkha on the Central
Asian Railway.

Lxx RISE OF NADIR KULI 341

that he should himself proceed to Meshed. There he
pleaded that as a loyal servant he was bound to defend
his master's honour, and Malik Mahmud not only
pardoned him, but gave him a robe of honour. Shortly
after this event Nadir married his master's daughter, who
subsequendy became the mother of the unfortunate Riza
Kuli. Upon the death of Baba Ali, for which according
to some accounts Nadir was responsible, he succeeded to
the governorship of Abivard.

Service under Malik Mahmud, — The rise to power
of a clever, resolute leader of men was speedy in those
troublous times, and Nadir Kuli was soon employed by
Malik Mahmud to attack the raiding Uzbegs. He
distinguished himself by winning a battle, but, having
exhibited too much freedom in claiming the deputy-
governorship of Khorasan as his promised reward, he was
beaten and then dismissed. His experience as a leader
of mounted troops serving with artillery and with infantry
armed with muskets must have been of great value as a
preparation for his future career.

His Capture of Kalat and Nishapur. — After suffering
this reverse of fortune. Nadir, like his great prototype
Yakub bin Lays, became a robber. His ability and
success soon brought him recruits, and during the period
of anarchy which followed the capitulation of Isfahan he
collected a large force of men and began to levy contribu-
tions in Khorasan. He also obtained possession of Kalat ^
and, secure in this impregnable fortress, destined to
become famous as Kalat-i-Nadiri, he was in a very
different position from the ordinary leader of a gang
of robbers, and his influence spread far and wide.

But Nadir was not content to remain a mere brigand,
and shortly after possessing himself of Kalat he decided
to attack Nishapur, held at that time by the troops of
Malik Mahmud. He first of all surprised and cut to
pieces a foraging party six hundred strong, and then
lured the main body of the garrison into an ambush and
destroyed it. Nishapur opened its gates and was occupied

1 Said Ali Khan, my local authority, states that the story according to which Kalat
was held by Nadir's uncle is entirely unfounded, and I have adopted his views on the
subject, ,

342 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

in the name of Shah Tahmasp, whose service Nadir after-
wards entered.

His Dreams. — The ambitions of the Afshar chief were
already fully developed, and he dreamed a dream, in which
he caught a fish with four horns, indicating the conquest
of four kingdoms. He also dreamed that Ali girded him
with a sword, calling upon him to save Persia and promis-
ing him the throne.

The Capture of Meshed and the Execution of Malik
Mahmud, — The capture of Meshed was a great service
rendered by Nadir to the Safavi dynasty. There was
much skirmishing, and he was successful in a battle, but
Meshed was not to be won by these means. Treachery
aided the fortunate Afshar, who gained an entrance into
the heart of the city by the surrender of a gate. Malik
Mahmud fought desperately, but was defeated, and when
Meshed was taken he gave himself up. At first he was
permitted to occupy a dervish's cell in the shrine, but as
he became a centre of intrigues he was put to death by
Nadir's orders.

The Reward for the Expulsion of the Afghans. —
Tahmasp had apparently few illusions as to the character
of his great general. His expulsion of the Afghans,
narrated in detail in the last chapter, was however too
signal a service to be rewarded in the ordinary manner,
and the Shah perforce bestowed on him Khorasan, Sistan,
Kerman, and Mazanderan, together with the title of
Sultan. Nadir was too astute to assume the title, but he
struck money in his own name and with it paid his army ;
and in the East this is tantamount to an assumption of
sovereignty.

Nadir Kults First Turkish Campaign. — After the
extirpation of the Afghan invaders. Nadir Kuli turned
his attention to the Turks. The position, indeed, was
serious, as the whole of Azerbaijan and most of Irak was
in the possession of the Sultan. In fact it was far worse
than the situation which had faced Shah Abbas, who
commanded the entire resources of Persia as its lawful
monarch, whereas Nadir Kuli was hampered by Shah
Tahmasp. His first campaign was highly successful.

From a photogi-aph by tlic A uthor.

A CHAPASHLU TRIBESMAN OF DARRAGAZ.

Lxx RISE OF NADIR KULI 343

Defeating a Turkish army near Hamadan, he gained
possession of both Irak and Azerbaijan, and he was
besieging Erivan when news of a rebellion in Khorasan
diverted him for a while from his main objective. He
raised the siege at once and marched some fourteen
hundred miles eastwards to invest Herat.

Tahmasp's Disastrous Campaign against the Turks^ a.h.
1 144 (1731). — Shah Tahmasp, fired by Nadir Kuli*s
successes, determined to take the field in person against
the Turks. The defeat of the Ottoman army had reacted
on the situation in Constantinople, where the Janissaries
had dethroned Ahmad III. and placed Mahmud V. on
the throne. Nadir Kuli despatched an envoy to the new
Sultan. However, before the result of this mission was
known, Tahmasp began a fresh siege of Erivan. But he
retreated fi-om before that fortress, was defeated by a
Turkish army at Korijan, near Hamadan, with heavy
losses, and in a single month lost all that Nadir had won
back. In the following year he made a treaty with the
Turks, by the terms of which the Aras became the
boundary of Persia. He ceded Ganja, Tiflis, Erivan,
Nakhchivan, Shamakha, and Daghestan, but retained
Tabriz, Ardelan, Kermanshah, Hamadan, and Luristan.
The treaty, which contained eight articles, also dealt with
pilgrimage, commerce, the establishment of consuls at
Constantinople and Isfahan and other matters. There
was no provision for the release of Persian prisoners.

His Dethronement in a.h. 1145 (1732). — The defeat
of Tahmasp aflForded Nadir Kuli the pretext he had
hitherto lacked. In the first place, he issued a proclama-
tion protesting against the treaty in no measured terms.
To quote from the Jahangusha : " As the articles are
against the pleasure of the Most High and contrary to
the interest of this empire, we have not thought it right
to agree to them. Moreover, the very angels which
surround the tomb of the great Caliphs, Commanders of
the Faithful, and above all the victorious Ali son. of Abu
Talib, on whom be the peace of the Lord ! desire before
the throne of God the release of Moslem prisoners. . . ." ^

^ Vol. xi. p. 236.

344 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

He wrote letters, moreover, to the Governors of the
various provinces, denouncing the treaty and threatening
with expulsion from the sect and with death all Shias who
refused to fight.

At the same time he took the more formal step of
despatching an envoy to Constantinople with the laconic
message, " Restore the provinces of Persia or prepare for
war," Having by these means excited the inhabitants of
the country against their Shah, Nadir Kuli marched to
Isfahan. There he upbraided Tahmasp, and then seized
him and sent him prisoner to Khorasan ; but, as he
did not yet feel in a position to usurp the throne, he had
recourse to the ancient device of an infant puppet in the
person of a son of Tahmasp, and was himself proclaimed
Regent.

The Battle of Karkuk, a.h. 1146 (1733). — Nadir's
second campaign opened with the siege of Baghdad, whose
defender, Ahmad Pasha, after being defeated in the open,
was prepared to offer a desperate resistance. The situation,
however, was entirely changed by the advance of a power-
ful Turkish army under Topal^ Osman. Nadir unwisely
divided his force and, leaving twelve thousand men to
occupy the trenches before Baghdad, marched north to
meet the Turks at Karkuk or Kirkuk, near Samarra.
The batde was one of the fiercest ever fought between
the two nations. At first the Persians gained an advantage
in defeating the Turkish cavalry, but the flight of the
horsemen left the formidable Ottoman infantry unmoved,
and its advance restored the battle. Nadir had expected
aid from a body of Arabs, but they attacked one of his
flanks. Gradually the battle went against the Persians,
the horse of the Persian leader was twice shot under him,
and his standard-bearer fled, believing him to be killed.
This decided the day, and after eight hours' desperate
fighting, the Persian army was routed. The news quickly
reached Baghdad, where the isolated Persian division was
then annihilated. The main army fled in disorder and
in a state of such demoralization that it was not re-formed

1 Topal signifies a "cripple." As a young man Osman had been badly wounded and
he never recovered the full use of his legs.

LXX

RISE OF NADIR KULI 345

until it reached Hamadan, two hundred miles from the
battlefield.

Nadir's position must have been extremely critical
after this disaster, but he rose to the occasion, and, instead
of reproaching his soldiers, encouraged them by making
good their losses and by every other means that was
possible. So extraordinary were his personality and re-
putation that recruits flocked in from every district of
Persia, and in less than three months after his crushing
defeat he was ready once again to take the field with a
powerful and well-equipped army.

The Persian Victory over Topal Osman, a.h. 1146
(1733). — The Turkish general after gaining this splendid
victory became the victim of intrigues in Constantinople,
as the result of which both pay and reinforcements for
the army were withheld. Consequently he was in a position
of marked inferiority at the opening of the new campaign.
But he was no coward, and he sent his cavalry forward
to meet the enemy at LeUan,^ near the Tigris. As in the
previous battle, the Turks were unable to withstand the
numerically stronger Persian mounted force, but on this
occasion in their flight they swept away the infantry with
them. Topal Osman, who was carried in a Htter, was
killed and the Turkish army was routed.

After wiping out his defeat by this signal victory
Nadir marched on Baghdad, but hearing of a revolt in
Fars he made peace with Ahmad Pasha. He then, by
a forced march, surprised the rebel Mohamed Khan
Baluch, who was defeated and brought as a prisoner to
Shiraz, where he committed suicide.

The Persian Victory of Baghavand^ a.h. 1148 (1735).
— The Sultan refused to ratify the treaty made by the
Governor of Baghdad, and a fresh Turkish army was
despatched under AbduUa Koprulu. Nadir immediately
besieged Tiflis, Erivan, and Ganja with the design of
forcing the Turkish leader to a general engagement.
In this he was successful, as Abdulla, quitting his
entrenched camp near Kars, advanced on Erivan at the
head of 80,000 men, and attacked the Persians, who had

^ Both these battles were fought near Karkuk.

346 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

retired to a chosen position on the plains of Baghavand.
The Persian forces, though inferior in numbers, gained
a complete victory. The Turks after experiencing crush-
ing losses fled, the Ottoman general being among the
slain. Tiflis, Ganja, and Erivan were the spoils of victory,
and the Ottoman Court, taught by bitter experience,
agreed to the terms of the Peace of Baghdad.

The Evacuation of the Caspian Provinces by Russia, —
Upon the death of Peter the Great the forward policy
was abandoned and the councillors of Anne, realizing the
strain it had entailed on Russian resources, decided to
evacuate the Caspian provinces. Mazanderan and Astra-
bad, which had never been occupied by the Russians,
together with Gilan were restored to Persia by the Treaty
of Resht in 1732, and by a second treaty, made in 1735,
Baku and Derbent were given up.^ Hanway corroborates
this latter date.

According to Persian accounts. Nadir sent an ulti-
matum to the Russian general requiring him to leave the
country, on pain of being driven out by Nadir's farrashes^
or servants. A Muscovite envoy was sent to Meshed
to treat with Nadir, but the latter refused to give an
immediate reply. The envoy accompanied the Persian
camp, and one day was summoned by the great Conqueror,
who had just gained a fresh victory. He found Nadir
sitting on the ground eating bread with his hands and
clothes reeking with blood, and when he inquired the
reason of his being summoned. Nadir replied that he
wished the envoy to see how he ate the coarsest fare with
blood-stained hands : he could tell his master that such
a man would never surrender Gilan. In the Jahangusha
it is stated that the Russians agreed to evacuate Resht and
Lahijan after the expulsion of the Afghans but that they
delayed the fulfilment of the treaty until the following
year, when Nadir had taken Herat. The European
accounts would appear to be the more trustworthy.

The Accession of ISIadir Kuli to the Throne^ a.h. 1148
(1736). — Nadir, who was now all-powerful with his army,
took advantage of the death of the infant Shah to carry

^ AitchiiOTi's Treaties, p. 5.

XADIR SHAH.
( From a Persian picture. )

(B)- kind permission of the Secretary of State for India.

Lxx Kibh. Ub JNADIK KULl 347

out his scheme of usurping the crown. The leading
officials in Persia were invited to celebrate the No Ruz,
or " New Year's Day/' on the plain of Moghan, a
celebrated pasture which stretches from the neighbour-
hood of Ardebil to the mouth of the Kur. Surrounded
with all the attributes of power, the great Conqueror
harangued the assembled dignitaries and exhorted them
to choose a worthy Shah from among the princes of
the blood. As he anticipated, he was unanimously
requested to protect Persia and to ascend the vacant
throne. After refusing daily for a month, he permitted
himself at last to be persuaded by the prayers of the
assembly, and so ended the farce.-^

The Abolition of the Shia Doctrines, — To his acceptance
of the throne was attached the stipulation that the Persian
nation should abandon the Shia heresy introduced by the
founder of the Safavi dynasty and return to orthodoxy.
In his rescript on the subject Nadir wrote : " Since the
Shia schism has prevailed, this land has been constantly
in disorder. Let us all become Sunnis and this will
cease. But, as every national religion should have a
head, let the holy Imam Jafar, who is of the family of
the Prophet and whom we all reverence, be our head."
According to Hanway, the Chief Mujtahid arose and
advised Nadir to confine himself to ruling in temporal
matters ; but the sudden death of this dignitary warned
his fellow-doctors of law to refrain from opposition. The
change was therefore formally approved by the great
meeting, although inwardly it must have been detested
by the large majority of the Persians who were present.
In order to make the new departure less unpalatable.
Nadir declared his fixed intention to add to the four
orthodox sects of the Sunnis — to wit, the Hanifites, the
Shafiites, the Malikites, and the Hanbalites — a fifth sect,
the Jafarites. By this fundamental change, for which at
most a formal assent was gained. Nadir doubtless hoped
to make the people of Persia forget the illustrious Safavi
dynasty ; perhaps also he dreamed of ruHng over a united

1 Abraham of Crete, who was among the dignitaries invited to the plain of Moghan
gives a full account of the proceedings.

348 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, lxx

Moslem empire which should include the Ottoman
dominions. But, although for a while it was realized
that Nadir Kuli alone was fitted to rule the land, no
affection was ever felt for his family, and at his death
those who rallied to protect it were few in number.

The Coronation of Nadir Shah, — In a magnificent hall
erected for the purpose the crown of Persia was placed
on the head of the Great Soldier at an hour selected by
the leading astrologers as peculiarly auspicious. Nadir
Shah, as he is termed henceforth, received the homage
of his subjects seated on a jewel-encrusted throne, and in
order to commemorate the occasion, coins were stamped
bearing the following distich :

By gold in all the earth his kingship shall be famed,
Phoenix of Persians land, World-conqueror, Sovereign named. ^

Thus in pomp and splendour the Afshar shepherd,
who by his military genius had freed Iran from the
Afghans, the Turks, and other invaders, realized his
dazzling ambition, and sat on the throne of Cyrus, of
Noshirwan, and of Shah Abbas.

1 The translation of this distich is taken from The Coins of the Shahs of Persia, by
R. S. Poole.

Holograph Document signed by Tahmasp Kuli Afshar (Nadir Shah),
(Through the courtesy of Abdul Majid Belshah.)

[Purpyort. — Xadir acknowledgres his indebtedness for the book (on which he has ^vritten these
lines) to his General, Keiumars Khan. He adds that as he is too busj' to read it himself he \nll
return it to its author for the purpose,] *

CHAPTER LXXI

THE CONQUESTS OF NADIR SHAH

We, whose wishes were for such a day, after appointing" guards ft:>r our
camp, and invoking the support ot an all-powertul Creator, mounted and
advanced to the charge. For two complete hours the action raged with
violence and a hea\T hre of cannon and musketry was maintained. After
that, by the aid of the Ahnighty, our lion-hunting heroes broke the line of
the enemy and chased them trom the held ot battle, dispersing them in every
direction. — From Nadir Shah's own account of the Battle of Karnal.

T/ie Punithe Expedition against the Bakhtiaris. — Nadir
Shah had undoubtedly resolved on a career of conquest
lono; before he ascended the throne. Apart from his
ambition he must have realized that he owed his position
to the army and that to maintain it further successes were
necessary. Moreover, to pay a large standing force was
bevond the resources ot exhausted Iran.

The tirst expedition he undertook after his coronation
was aorainst the Bakhtiaris.^ These tribesmen had a few

^ Owing to the inriuence of the Sird^ir Assad, who lived at Teheran as a hostage
and, like Mir Vais, learned the weakness of the central government, the Bakhtiaris
have played a leading and not unproJitable part in the recent struggles for constitutional

government.

549

350 HISTORY OF PERSIA

years previously killed their governor, and Nadir had
invaded their country, which is described in the
Jahangusha as follows : " If the pen of description wished
to give an idea of the route, so steep and so difficult, it
would be lost in the forest of astonishment and con-
founded in the desert of feebleness." On that occasion
the savage Bakhtiaris, unable to resist the overwhelming
forces employed, had submitted, and by way of punish-
ment three thousand families had been transported to
Khorasan. On the present occasion Nadir attacked
another rebellious section of the tribe and led his troops
into every corner and nook of the mountains. Probably
realizing that the Bakhtiaris were driven to rob through
poverty, as is the case to-day with the tribes on the north-
west frontier of India, Nadir, after killing their chief and
other prisoners, gave them better lands in a less in-
accessible district. He also enrolled a body of their
warriors in his army, a statesmanlike policy which proved
conspicuously successful.

The Afghan Campaign^ a.h. 1150-1151 (1737-1738).
— Kandahar was governed by Husayn, brother of
Mahmud the Captor of Isfahan. Being quite unable to
meet Nadir's army of eighty thousand men in the field, he
shut himself up in the city, which was strongly fortified,
fully provisioned, and held by a large garrison. Nadir
Shah, after reconnoitring the position, came to the con-
clusion that it was too strong to besiege without heavy
guns, and decided on a blockade. This operation he
carried out with great thoroughness. Round the city a
line of towers was constructed, twenty-eight miles in
circumference, and in these infantry armed with muskets
were stationed, so that Kandahar was ejfFectually cut off
from the surrounding country. But the city held out for
a year, and Nadir then resolved to take more active steps.
Kandahar stands on the face of a hill, and was defended
by a wall and by a number of towers which constituted
outworks. The besiegers made themselves masters of
some of these towers, to which with immense difficulty they
dragged up guns, the Bakhtiaris earning special distinction
by capturing a large tower which was the key of the

A HAKHriARI CHIEF.

- .^P),'/,^,.,//, ry Co/. H. A. Sawyer.

Lxxi CONQUESTS OF NADIR SHAH 351

position. Kandahar now lay at the mercy of Nadir, who
treated it with statesmanlike moderation. He even
enlisted a body of Afghans, who became some of his best
and most faithfU soldiers. Husayn fled, but afterwards
surrendered and was interned in Mazanderan. Of the
Ghilzais a large number were removed to the neighbour-
hood of Nishapur, whence Abdali nomads were brought
to take their place in the Kandahar district.

The siege of Kandahar reflects no glory on Nadir
Shah, who blockaded it for a year without attempting to
take it by other means. The event proved it to be by
no means impregnable, and it would have speedily
succumbed to determined assaults.

The Expedition of Riza Kuli Mirza against Balkh, —
During the blockade of Kandahar, Nadir's eldest son,
Riza Kuli ^lirza^ was despatched from Khqrasan with
twelve thousand picked men to attack Balkh, whose chief
had promised aid to Husayn. After a fierce assault,
which lasted without intermission for three days and
nights, the " Mother of Cities " surrendered. The
Prince then crossed the Oxus and defeated an Uzbeg
army forty thousand strong. Nadir thereupon recalled
him, being unwilling to entangle himself in another
campaign at this juncture, and wrote to the King of
Bokhara that he had ordered his son not to disturb
countries " which were the inheritance of the descendants
of Chengiz Khan and of the race of the Turkoman.'*

The State of India in a.h. 1151 (1738). — During the
tedious months which were spent in front of Kandahar, it
is certain that Nadir frequently discussed an expedition
against Delhi, which would be the natural sequel to
a successful Afghan campaign. I therefore propose to
devote a few words to the state of India.

The last great Moghul Emperor was Aurangzeb. At
his death, in 1707, his empire stretched from Kabul to
the Bay of Bengal. Indeed all India except the apex of
the Deccan nominally obeyed him, although in the south
his autliority was limited to the forts and cities held by
his garrisons. After his decease, the break up of the
empire began. The elusive Marathas, who had foiled all

352 HISTORY OF PERSIA cap.

the efforts of Aurangzeb, steadily increased in power until
even the Emperor had to pay them blackmail.

Mohamed Shah, the antagonist of Nadir, had succeeded
to the throne in a.h. 1131 (1719). He was a worthless
descendant of the Great Moghuls. Indolent ami
voluptuous, " never without a mistress in his arms and a
glass in his hand," this despicable monarch was a sorry
contrast to the virile Nadir, and his unwarlikc troops
were wholly unfit to face the Persian veterans. Treachery
also is believed to have been at work, some of the leading
nobles of India being in correspondence with Nadir and
weakening the hands of the officers in command of the
fortresses.

The Negotiations. — Nadir had apprized the Court of
Delhi of his Afghan campaign and had requested that no
fugitives should be allowed to find asylum across the
frontier. His envoy, Ali Mardan, Shamlu, was informed
that necessary instructions had been given to the officials
concerned, and a second envoy received a similar reply.
Nevertheless, fugitives freely escaped to Ghazni and
Kabul, and it was evident that proper orders to prevent
this had not been given. Nadir sent another envoy to
remonstrate, but he was detained at Delhi. This was the
state of affairs after the capture of Kandahar, antl the
Great Afshar, free now to move his army in any direction,
despatched three fresh envoys with instructions to insist
on a definite reply. Failing again, he wrote an indignant
letter to the Emperor, but his messenger was killed by
Valad Mir Abbas, the Governor of Jalalabad. The
councillors of the Emperor, it would seem, failed to
realize the seriousness of the position. They hoped that
Kandahar would prove impregnable, and when it fell they
felt certain that the Persian army would return to its own
country, much as Mohamed Shah of Khwarazm had
believed that the Mongol hordes would never cross the
Oxus.

The Invasion of India. — From Kandahar Nadir marched
north on Kabul, capturing Ghazni on the way. Kabul, the
key to the Khyber I^ass, which is the main land gate of
India, offered a stout resistance, but was ultimately taken.

LXXl

CONQUESTS OF NADIR SHAH 353

The booty was rich, and included not only arms and
jewels, but money, which was of the utmost value as a
means of paying the troops. After this success the
movements of the invaders were slow, as they were
delayed by the tribes inhabiting the neighbourhood of the
Khyber Pass, but before the disunited weaklings of Delhi
realized what was happening, Nadir had taken Peshawar
and crossed the Indus at Attock.

The Battle of Karnal^ a.h. 1151 (1738). — Mohamed
Shah was by this time really alarmed, and, having collected
what troops he could, he marched to the plain of Karnal,
on the right bank of the Jumna, some sixty miles from
Delhi. There he formed an entrenched camp and supinely
awaited the invader, who swiftly marched across the Panjab.

Nadir recognized the strength of the position, and was
in some doubt what course to pursue. Moharhed Shah,
meanwhile, had received a reinforcement of thirty thousand
men under Saadat Khan, one of the leading princes of
India. Upon reporting his arrival to the Emperor he
urged that battle must be given at once, to prevent the
breaking up of the army from lack of supplies. Then,
hearing that a detached force of six thousand Kurds was
attacking and pillaging, Saadat Khan led his forces out
and drove them off. On both sides reinforcements were
hurried up and the engagement became general. Nadir
employed his usual tactics of an ambush with much
success, and Saadat Khan was defeated and taken prisoner.
Another leading general was wounded, the elephants were
frightened by fire-balls, and the vast Indian army was
routed, though only a portion of the forces on either side
had come into action.

Nadir's own description of the battle, in a letter
written to his son, has most fortunately been preserved,
and deserves to be quoted at some length.-^

This batde lasted two hqurs ; and for two hours and a half
more were our conquering soldiers engaged in pursuit. When one
hour of the day remained, the field was entirely cleared of the
enemy ; and as the entrenchments of their camp were strong, and

^ Vide also the heading to this chapter.
VOL. II 2 A

354 HISTORY OF PERSIA cha

the fortifications formidable, we would not permit our army i
assault it.

An immense treasure, a number of elephants, part of tl
artillery of the Emperor, and rich spoils of every description wei
the reward of our victory. Upwards of twenty thousand of th
enemy were slain on the field of battle, and a much great(
number were made prisoners. Immediately after the action wj
over, we surrounded the Emperor's army, and took measures t
prevent all communication with the adjacent country ; preparin
at the same time our cannon and mortars to level with the groun
the fortifications which had been erected.

As the utmost confusion reigned in the imperial camp, and a
discipline was abandoned, the Emperor, compelled by irresistib]
necessity, after the lapse of one day, sent Nizam-ul-Mulk, o
Thursday, the seventeenth Zilkadeh (19th February), to our roy;
camp ; and the day following, Mohamed Shah himself, attende
by his nobles, came to our heavenlike presence, in an aiflicte
state.

When the Emperor was approaching, as we are ourselves of
Turkoman family, and Mohamed Shah is a Turkoman, and th
lineal descendant of the noble House of Gurkan, we sent our dea
son Nasrulla Khan beyond the bounds of our camp to meet him
The Emperor entered our tents and we delivered over to him thi
signet of our Empire. He remained that day a guest in our roya
tent. Considering our affinity as Turkoman, and also reflectinj
on the honours that befitted the majesty of a king of kings, w
bestowed such upon the Emperor, and ordered his royal pavihons
his family, and his nobles to be preserved : and we have establishe
him in a manner equal to his great dignity.

Persians love to recount how Nadir, in boasting c
his hardihood, swore to Mohamed Shah that during th
whole campaign he had never changed his clothes. T
prove the accuracy of his statement, he tore open his tuni
to show his under garments, which were worn to pieces.

The Surrender of Delhi and its Spoils. — Nadir marched i:
triumph into Delhi, where he was entertained in the mos
sumptuous fashion by Mohamed Shah, who handed ove
to him the amassed wealth of his ancestors. Among th
trophies was the celebrated Peacock Throne, described b
Tavernier as follows : ^

The largest throne, which is set up in the hall of the fin

1 Cuizon (vol. i.pp. 317-22) proves that the Peacock Throne at Teheran was ma^
during the reign of Fath Ali Shah.

■f.

Lxxi CONQUESTS OF NADIR SHAH 355

court, is in form like one of our field beds, six feet long and four
broad. The cushion at the base is round like a bolster : the
cushions on the sides are flat. The under part of the canopy is
all embroidered with pearls and diamonds, with a fringe of pearls
round about. Upon the top of the canopy, which is made like an
arch with four panes, stands a peacock with his tail spread, consist-
ing all of saphirs and other proper coloured stones. The body is
of beaten gold enchas'd with several jewels, and a great ruby upon
his breast, at which hangs a pearl that weighs fifty carats. On
each side of the peacock stand two nosegays as high as the bird,
consisting of several sorts of flowers, all of beaten gold enamelled.
When the king seats himself on the throne there is a transparent
jewel with a diamond appendant of eighty or ninety carats,
encompass'd with rubies and emeralds, so hung that it is always
in his eye. The twelve pillars also that uphold the canopy are
set with rows of fair pearl, round, and of an excellent water, that
weigh from six to ten carats of apiece. This is the famous throne
which Tamerlane began and Cha Jehan finished, vKhich is really
reported to have cost 160 million and 500,000 Hvres of our
money.

The value of the spoils was estimated at ;^8 7,500,000
by Hanway, and the lowest estimate was ;r3o,ooo,ooo.
In any case the sum was enormous and, had Nadir used
it wisely for the support of his army and for public works,
it would have proved the greatest blessing to impoverished
Iran. As it was, it converted him into a miser, and
Persia never benefited during his lifetime by these vast
treasures, which after his death were mostly dissipated
and lost."^

The Massacre. — An entirely peaceful ending to the
campaign was disturbed by a rising in Delhi during the
course of which some Persians were killed. Nadir at-
tempted to quell the tumult but was obliged in the end
to unleash his soldiers, who massacred and plundered and
burned. Mohamed Shah interceded and the massacre
was stopped, but not until part of the city had been
destroyed by fire.

The Marriage of Nasrulla Khan. — To cement the
alliance between the two monarchs, a daughter of the
Moghul Emperor was married to Nasrulla, Nadir's

^ Some years ago I purchased a coral necklace of Indian manufacture from an im-
poverished descendant of Nadir Shah. There is every reason to believe that it formed
part of the spoils of Delhi.

356 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

second son. The story runs that an account of the
bridegroom's pedigree for seven generations was de-
manded. The grim reply was : " He is son of Nadir
Shah, the son of the sword, the grandson of the sword ;
and so on to seventy instead of seven generations.''

The Results of the Campaign. — By this campaign of a
few months Nadir struck a blow which resounded all over
the world. Until then, though he had indeed gained
victories, he had merely recovered lost provinces of the
Persian Empire. In this fortunate expedition he had
won the fabulous " wealth of Ind," and with it enduring
fame. He showed the prudence of a statesman in re-
placing Mohamed Shah on the throne and threatening
to attack any one who dared to disobey him. He realized
that to hold Delhi was beyond his powers : at the same
time he recovered all the provinces on the right bank of
the Indus which had once formed part of the Persian
Empire. Thus with power, fame, and wealth, the victor
recrossed the Indus. On his march back to the Iranian
plateau he readily paid blackmail to the tribes of the
Khyber Pass in order to avoid all risk to his treasure,
which he brought in safety to Kabul.

The Sind Expedition^ a.h. 1151-1152 (1739). — The
army remained for some time in the highlands of Afghani-
stan and the following winter was spent in an expedition
into Sind, where Nadir wished to make good his possession
of his newly acquired territories. He met with little or
no resistance. Khudayar Khan Abbasi, against whom the
campaign was chiefly directed, fled into the desert, but
by means of a forced march on Amirkot he was induced
to surrender. Abdul Karim mentions that when an
inventory of his property was taken many articles looted
by the Afghans at Isfahan were found. The conquered
districts were divided into three provinces, and, after
establishing his authority in them, the Great Afshar
marched back to the uplands through Peshin and Kandahar.
At Herat the army rested for forty days. Nadir Shah
exhibited to wondering throngs the spoils of Delhi, in-
cluding the celebrated Peacock Throne and a tent which
is thus described: "The lining was of violet -coloured

Lxxi CONQUESTS OF NADIR SHAH 357

satin, upon which were representations of all the birds
and beasts in the creation, with trees and flowers, the
whole made of pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds,
amethysts, and other precious stones/' ^ The victor
also organized pageants and entertainments of every
description.

The Campaign against Bokhara^ a.h. 1153 (1740). —
The campaign against the Uzbegs of Bokhara and Khiva
was the corollary to a successful campaign in India. As
mentioned in Chapter LXVL, these states were ruled by
separate, but kindred, dynasties. From both countries
hordes of raiders annually ravaged Khorasan : it was one
of these bands which had, as already mentioned, carried
off Nadir when a youth. As, moreover, they were unable
to resist the Persian army, it is not diflEicult to divine
the motives which induced the Conqueror of Delhi to
add to his conquests.

The campaign was organized from Balkh, where large
quantities of grain had been collected. These supplies
were loaded into boats and the army marched down
both banks of the Oxus to Charjui, where a bridge of
boats was constructed across the river. Abul Fayz Khan,
King of Bokhara, realizing that he was unable to resist
the Persian veterans, submitted and proceeded to the
camp of Nadir. The victor, after at first treating the de-
scendant of Chengiz Khan with haughtiness and disdain,
restored him to the throne on condition that the Oxus
should, as in the days of old, constitute the boundary of
Persia. The treaty was cemented by a double marriage,
he himself espousing a sister, and his nephew a daughter,
of the Bokharan monarch. Finally, in accordance with
precedent, eight thousand Uzbegs were enlisted in the
Persian army.

The Conquest of Khiva, a.h. 1153 (1740). — After
successfully adding Bokhara to his list of conquests. Nadir
Shah carried out his scheme of subduing Khiva. The
Turkoman nearly succeeded in capturing the bridge of
boats and destroying the convoy of grain on which the
existence of the army depended, but by a forced march

^ Ahdulkarreem^ ?• 27.

3S8 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

they were forestalled. They fought desperately, and at
one time it looked as if the Persian army, which was
suffering from thirst, would be defeated, but Nadir
rallied his troops and won the day. After this battle the
army moved with precaution in four divisions, disposed
to form advance, rear, and flanking guards, while the
precious grain boats were protected by the artillery,
escorted by a force of cavalry. The celebrated fortress
of Hezar Asp was first besieged, but hearing that Ilbars
Khan, the ruler of Khiva, was in the fort of Jayuk, Nadir
relinquished the siege and surrounded the Khan, whom he
forced to surrender. Before this campaign Nadir Shah
had despatched ambassadors to the Khan of Khiva to
demand the release of all Persians detained in slavery,
but his envoys had been put to death except one, who
was sent back in a mutilated condition. Ilbars Khan now
had to pay the penalty for this act of savagery, and was
put to death with twenty of his advisers. The people
were not given over as a prey to the army, as it was
realized that they were innocent.

Among the prisoners who were taken by Nadir on
this campaign were two English members of Hanway*s
staff, Messrs. Thompson and Hogg, who were treated with
much kindness, being given passports and promised redress
in case of losses. Their travels and adventures, which
certainly entitle them to a modest niche in the temple of
fame, are given by Hanway. From a commercial point
of view the enterprise was a failure, as there was little
demand for their goods, and no profit was made com-
mensurate with the great risks which were run.

A number of Persians and Russians, too, were freed
from slavery. The former were settled in a village
named Mauludgah, in the district of Darragaz, which Nadir
gave orders to found in commemoration of the fact that
it was his birthplace, as the word implies. From Abdul
Kurreem we learn that the mosque he erected was sur-
mounted by " three golden vases one upon another, and
at the top of all is fixed a scimitar of the same metal,
implying that the sword issued from hence." When I
visited the ruins in 19 13 I was informed that the founder

/•'rem a //iotog>;i/>/i bv Major J . 11'. Watson.

THE TREASURE HOUSE OF NADIR SHAH.

Lxxi CONQUESTS OF NADIR SHAH 359

of the Kajar dynasty had ordered the mosque and other
buildings to be levelled to the ground.^

Nadir Shah at the Zenith of his Power, — From Khiva
Nadir marched to his beloved Kalat, where he ordered
the erection of a palace and of a treasure-house for the
spoils of Delhi. He then proceeded to Meshed, where
he duly celebrated his victories.

Nadir was now at the zenith of his fame and power.
In five years he had defeated Ashraf and Husayn, the
Ghilzai chiefs, and had taken Kandahar. The victory over
Mohamed Shah and the capture of Delhi were a far more
splendid feat of arms, and his conquests were completed
by his successful campaigns against Bokhara and Khiva.
Nor was this all. The Turks had been twice defeated
and had restored her lost provinces to the Persian Empire,
which once again stretched from the Oxus-on the north J
to the Indus on the south — a realm far exceeding that I
of the Safavis. Had Nadir possessed any administrative '
capacity, he might, by employing the immense material
resources at his command, have restored to Persia her
prosperity and happiness. But his character was spoiled
by success, and the remaining years of his life are a record
of ever-increasing cruelty and avarice,, which made him
detested as a bloody tyrant by the very people whom
he had freed from the intolerable Afghan yoke.

^ I have been given some sheets which contain the accounts of the district of
Darragaz for the year a.h. 1159 (1746). Among the items shown are charges on the
land for the upkeep of the Mauludgah and of the grave of Imam Kuli. These documents
have been presented by me to the Royal Asiatic Society.

Nadir Shah.

CHAPTER LXXII

THE LAST YEARS OF NADIR SHAH

Who was it that restored the Persian Empire but the Persians ; and who
assisted the King to conquer India but the Persians ? He has now a foreign
force, and governs us with an army of Tartars. — A Persian's complaint to
Hanway.

The Lesghian Campaign^ 1 741-1742. — In Iran the
proverb runs, " If any Persian King is a fool, let him
march against the Lesghians," a saying of which Nadir
was destined to prove the truth. Inhabiting an un-
cultivated and almost inaccessible country in the recesses
of Daghestan, these savage tribesmen raided Shirwan and
other settled districts, and during the Indian campaign
they killed Ibrahim Khan, the only brother of the Shah.

Nadir was bound in honour to avenge his death, and
in the operations undertaken for this purpose he at first
gained some advantage, his advance-guard composed of
Afghans capturing a strong position. This success and
the fame of Nadir caused certain sections of the tribe
which inhabited less defensible country to submit, and
they were transported with their families into Khorasan.
Nadir then entered the Daghestan range, posting a force
of eight thousand men to keep open his communications
while the main body pursued the elusive Lesghians
deeper and deeper among the densely timbered mountains.
At length the tribesmen found their opportunity. They
attacked both the army and the connecting force at a dis-
advantage, and inflicted heavy loss, even penetrating to
the royal tent and carrying off some women and jewels.

360

CH. Lxxii LAST YEARS OF NADIR SHAH 361

Furious at being baffled. Nadir fought on desperately ;
but supplies failed and he was forced to retreat on
Derbent, where his shattered army would have starved
but for supplies shipped from Astrakhan. As Han way
points out, it was this bitter experience which proved to
Nadir Shah the value of a fleet.

The Russian Government, alarmed by these operations,
despatched a force, which encouraged the Lesghians to
petition for Russian protection.^ The Shah, realizing
that he had failed and that this failure would raise up a
host of enemies whom his supposed invincibility had
hitherto kept in check, retired in a sullen and angry
mood.

The Blinding of Riza Kuli Mirza, — Nadir had
marched from the scene of the Meshed festivities to the
province of Shirwan by Astrabad and Mazanderan, and
while traversing the forests of this province he was
assailed by two Afghans. The bullet which one of these
men fired grazed his right arm, wounded his hand, and
struck his horse in the head. The assassins escaped in
the thick brakes. Nadir was led to believe, whether
rightly or wrongly, that Riza Kuli Mirza was the insti-
gator of the plot. The young Prince was questioned and
promised pardon if he confessed, but he asserted his
innocence, and upon the close of the Lesghian campaign
he was blinded. The character of the Prince closely
resembled that of his father ; hearing on one occasion
a rumour that Nadir had lost his life in India, he had put
Shah Tahmasp to death and had begun to assume the
state of a monarch. He was harshly treated by Nadir
on his return and cherished deep resentment, and it is at
any rate possible that he was guilty. On the other hand,
Nadir was exasperated by his failure against the Lesghians
and would not hesitate to condemn on mere suspicion.
He afterwards undoubtedly regretted his act, and it is
stated that he put to death all the spectators of the blind-
ing, on the pretext that they should have oflFered their

* Hanway, iv. p. 226, gives a translation of the petition, which contains the following
passage : " We are determined to hold the golden border of the Empress's imperial
robes, and in spite of all the evils that may threaten us, we will not be dragged from
them. . . ."

362 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

lives to save the eyes of a prince who was the glory of
Persia. Persians still remember the saying attributed to
the blinded Prince, " It is not my eyes which you have
put out, but those of Persia."

Rebellions in Persia^ 1743- 1744. — The repulse of
Nadir in Daghestan and the insecurity felt owing to his
increasing cruelty were the chief causes of three rebellions
which broke out in Shirwan, in Fars, and at Astrabad.
In Shirwan, a pretender named Sam, who claimed to be a
son of Shah Husayn, raised the country and with the aid
of the Lesghians defeated a body of two thousand troops.
Nadir detached a force of twenty-five thousand men,
which after much hard fighting drowned the rebellion in
blood. The Pretender was taken prisoner and deprived
of one eye, and then sent to Constantinople with the
following message : " Nadir disdains to take the life of
so despicable a wretch, although the ' Grand Signior ' has
espoused his cause.'* ^

The trouble at Shiraz arose out of the failure of Taki
Khan, the Governor of Fars, in certain expeditions in the
Persian Gulf. Hearing that he was in consequence to be
sent a prisoner to the camp, he revolted, but an army of
eighteen thousand men captured Shiraz and crushed the
rebellion with awful severity. Taki Khan was taken
and deprived of one eye, and his relations were put to
death. The revolt of the Kajars of Astrabad will be
referred to when we come to the adventures of Hanway.
Mohamed Husayn Khan, their chief, was defeated by a
force of only fifteen hundred men, and the Astrabad
province was ruined by the executions and destruction
of property, of which Hanway gives a most graphic
description.

The Last Campaign against Turkey^ 1 743-1745. — The
last campaign which Nadir fought against Turkey was
due to the Sultan's refusal to recognize the Jafar sect,
concerning which the following decision had been given
by the religious leaders : " It is permitted to kill and to
make prisoners of the people of Iran, and the new sect is
contrary to the true belief." The Persian monarch had

^ This is Hanway's account. In the Jahangusha a different message is given.

Lxxii LAST YEARS OF NADIR SHAH 363

completely failed in his attempt to reunite the Persians
with the Turks, and as he was hated by all good Shias
his position was by no means enviable.

However, he was able to inflict one more crushing
defeat on the Turks, who were encouraged by the internal
state of Persia to risk another trial of strength. For a
long time nothing decisive happened, the Turks acting on
the defensive with success at Mosul, Kars and elsewhere,
while the Persians lost thousands of men in unsuccessful
assaults.

Finally, in a.h. 1158 (1745), a large Turkish army,
under Yakan Mohamed Pasha, advanced from Kars
prepared to fight a batde. Nadir, whose skill as a
tactician had not been impaired, resolved to meet this
great host on the same ground on which he had defeated
Abdulla Pasha. The Turkish leader, advancing at the
head of one hundred thousand cavalry and forty thousand
infantry, halted close to the Persian army and fortified his
camp. The next day the two armies met, and after a
series of combats extending over four days the Persians
gained a most decisive victory. The Turks were driven
back to their camp, where they murdered their general,
and then fled in hopeless disorder. Nadir captured the
whole of the artillery and military stores, and many
thousands of the enemy were killed or made prisoners.
After this brilliant success fresh proposals for peace were
made by the victors. Nadir agreed to waive his pretensions
concerning the new sect, the prisoners were released, and
peace was made on the terms fixed in the treaty with
Murad IV.

The Pioneer Journeys ofElton^ 1 739-1 742. — In Chapters
LXII. and LXIV. an epitome was given of early efforts
to trade with Persia across Russia in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. Peter the Great, realizing that
his subjects were incapable of organizing commerce with
Persia, made overtures to Englishmen to undertake the
work, but with his death the scheme fell through. A
few years later, in 1738, or just a century after the
Holstein Mission, an attempt was made by John Elton
to revive the scheme. This intrepid Englishman had

364 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

served the Russian Government in the Orenburg expedi-
tion, in which he had explored much unknown country ;
he had also made enquiries about trade with Khiva and
Bokhara.

In 1739 Elton made a pioneer journey down the Volga,
intending to proceed to Khiva and Bokhara ; but, on
learning that the Persians were invading those countries,
he decided to ship his goods to Resht. There his recep-
tion was remarkably friendly. On the advice of the
Persian governor he petitioned Riza Kuli Mirza, who
was then Viceroy of Persia, for a farman^ which was
granted and couched in the most favourable terms.
Elated at his success, Elton returned to England, where
he painted in glowing language the prospects of the new
opening and obtained strong support. He pointed out
that Meshed was now the capital ; that it was too far from
the Persian Gulf for the operations of the East India
Company, but was accessible from the Caspian Sea, and
that it would also form an excellent entrepdt for trade
with Khiva and Bokhara. Against these advantages had
to be set the miserably poor state of exhausted Persia and
the circumstance that this trade opening was not new,
but was already used by the Armenians trading between
Holland and Persia, who knew the language and customs
of Persia and were hostile to the new-comers. More-
over, it was longer than the route via Aleppo, and was
open for only half the year. On the other hand, the
Armenians were oppressed with heavy illegal taxes which
the Englishmen would escape, and practically no English
cloth reached Northern Persia from Smyrna.

The necessary permission was obtained from the
Russian Government, and two ships were built at Kazan
and launched in 1742. Elton was in charge, with one
Woodroofe in command of the ship ; but soon after his
arrival at Resht he quarrelled with the Russian Consul. In
the following year, as the result of overtures made by the
Persian authorities, Elton suddenly entered the service of
Nadir Shah.

The Adventures of Jonas Hanway^ 1743- — His acts had
naturally disturbed the English factors at Petrograd, who

JONAS HANWAV AND THE COLUMNS OF SKULLS NEAR ASTRABAD.
(From Jonas Hanway's Historical Account of British Trade over tit c Caspian, 1753, vol. i. )

Lxxn LAST YEARS OF NADIR SHAH 365

realized that they would provoke Russian hostility, and
Jonas Han way was despatched to assume charge. Passing
through Astrakhan, he found that the Russians were
opposed to British activity, which threatened their own
trade, the ships built at Kazan being greatly superior to
anything which then sailed on the Caspian.

Hanway, after discussing the situation with Elton,
decided to take his cargo to Astrabad and Meshed, and
with this object sailed to Astrabad Bay. He reached
Astrabad city without incident, but before he could leave
it Mohamed Husayn Khan, the Kajar chief, seized the
place. The Turkoman who had joined in the Kajar
expedition, not content with receiving the Englishman's
goods, asked for the merchants as slaves to tend their
sheep ! The Kajar Khan, however, saved Hanway from
this fate and he was permitted to leave Astrabad. He
determined to seek justice from Nadir Shah, and having
with the utmost difficulty traversed Mazanderan he re-
turned to Langar Rud, where Elton befriended him, and
to Resht, where he refitted for the onward journey. He
reached the royal camp at Hamadan safely, and was readily
granted an order for the restitution of his goods, or, in
default, for payment of their value. This necessitated a
second journey to Astrabad, where Hanway was a witness
of the awful punishments meted out to the rebels and saw
two pyramids of piled-up heads.

The Closing of British Trade across the Caspian^ 1746. —
The Russian Government was alarmed, and not without
reason, at Elton's action, and as a first step stopped the
consignment of goods to him across Russia. In vain the
Russian Company made handsome offers to the wayward
Englishman if he. would quit Persia. By way of response
he procured an order from Nadir in 1745 forbidding his
departure.

In the following year the Russian Government issued
a decree absolutely prohibiting the British trade across the
Caspian and assigning Elton's behaviour as the reason.
This was the death-blow to the venture. In the following
year, after the murder of Nadir Shah, the factory at Resht
was plundered of goods to the value of ;^ 8 0,000, for which

366 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

restitution was never made. The factors left Resht, and
thus ended in failure the second attempt to trade with
Persia across Russia, although as in the case of the earlier
venture our annals are enriched by the achievements of
Englishmen such as Hanway, Elton, and Woodroofe, who
won fame as explorers and pioneers.

The Naval Ambitions of Nadir Shah. — No better
. illustration can be found of the influence of physical con-
ditions on character than the invincible repugnance to the
sea which the Persians, who are cut oiFfrom it by mountain
barriers, have always shown, a repugnance which is as
strong to-day as when Hafiz gave up his voyage to India.
Nadir Shah deserves credit for being the first monarch of
Persia who realized the value of a fleet, and his naval policy
was strenuously supported by his Admiral of the Coast,
although that officer, when appointed, had never seen a
ship. In January 1743, Elton was appointed Chief Naval
Constructor and given the title of Jamal Beg.^

Not content with merely building ships, Elton, under
the instructions of his royal master, surveyed the east coast
of the Caspian as far north as Cheleken Island.^ Nadir's
plan was to keep in check the Turkoman pirates and to
strengthen the claims of Persia along this coast by the
establishment of a fortified position. Moreover, he hoped
by means of a fleet to be able to supply his troops when
operating against the Lesghians, and, as Hanway puts it,
" the ambition of sharing the trade and Sovereignty of the
Caspian might alsD be a concurring inducement.''

Elton was a genius. Making his headquarters at
Langar Rud, the port of Lahijan, in a pestilential climate,
he set to work to overcome all difficulties. Timber was
hewn and brought down to the coast ; sail-cloth was woven
of cotton, and cords were twisted from flax. Anchors, not
being procurable locally, were fished for. The local
population, working without pay, was bitterly hostile to
the new forced labour, but Elton, with only one English
carpenter, a few Russians, and a few Indians, launched

1 The Turki form is " Gemal," and it must be remembered that Turk! was
Nadir's mother-tongue.

* Captain Woodroofe's interesting account is given in Hanway, i. 130-38. On
p. 161, Nadir's plans are set forth and reference is made to the energy displayed by Elton.

Lxxii LAST YEARS OF NADIR SHAH 367

a ship mounting twenty three-pounders. The Russian
Government viewed this naval activity in the interests of
Nadir Shah with open hostility, but Elton stayed on after
the assassination of his master until he was shot in a local
rebellion, in 1751. After his death the whole scheme
perished.

In the Persian Gulf, too, Nadir made a bid for sea-
power. He collected a fleet of twenty vessels manned by
Portuguese and Indians, which made the power of Persia
a reality instead of a shadow in those waters. He also
built a dockyard and at terrible cost in human sufi^ering
transported timber right across Persia for the use of his
shipwrights. Here again, after assassination had removed
the master-mind, the Persian fleet ceased to exist, and only
a half-finished ship, referred to by later travellers, remained
to prove that a dockyard had once existed. •

The Assassination of Nadir Shah^ a.h. i 160 (1747). —
The last years of the reign of Nadir Shah are described in
the partial pages of the Jahangusha as exceeding in
barbarity all that has been recorded of the most blood-
thirsty tyrants. Wherever he passed he constructed
pyramids of heads and drove the miserable remnant of his
subjects to inhabit caves and desert places. There was an
almost general rebellion against the tyrant. Ali Kuli
Khan, his nephew, who had been deputed to reduce Sistan,
joined the Sistanis and proclaimed himself Shah, thereby
increasing the anarchy of the kingdom. Among others,
the Kurds of Kuchan rebelled. Nadir marched on Kuchan,
and in his camp, two farsakhs away, met his fate at the
hands of one of his own tribesmen. There is no reason
to doubt that his assailants acted in self-preservation, having
heard that they were to be seized and put to death. The
Shah's tents were pitched on a low mound, — which has
been pointed out to me, — and late at night Mohamed
Salah Khan and Mohamed Kuli Khan Afshar entered
the royal enclosure. After a search they discovered and
attacked Nadir, who died fighting. Although surprised
in his sleep, he killed two of the assassins before Salah
Khan, the captain of the guard, struck him to the ground.

His Character, — The character of Nadir Shah is not

368 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

difficult to analyse. Endowed with splendid physique, a
fine appearance, a voice of thunder, dauntless courage and
resolution, he was a born leader of men, and with his
battle-axe he hewed his way to fame. He had a marvellous
memory and abundant virility and he proved himself a
great tactician. Generous at first, and, as we learn from
Abraham of Crete, ready to overlook errors, he became
a miser after securing the spoils of Delhi. Moderate in
his early campaigns and averse from needless bloodshed,
he was possessed later on with an unquenchable thirst for
blood. As Mirza Mehdi states, the repulse by the Lesghi-
ans and, still more, the blinding of his son drove him into
the awful excesses by which he is remembered.

Bred a Sunni, he showed intense hostility to the Shia
religious leaders and confiscated the huge revenues which
they enjoyed. He attempted to reunite Islam by the
abolition of the Shia doctrine, but was wholly unsuccessful.
Later he dreamed of founding a new religion, and with
this end in view had translations made of both the Jewish
Scriptures and the New Testament.

As an administrator, too, he failed completely.
Although ready to punish injustice with severity, he did
not realize that in order to secure his position he must re-
store content and prosperity to Persia. He remitted three
years' taxes in celebration of his victory in India, but
afterwards, with incredible folly, cancelled this decree and
ordered the collection of every farthing. Hanway describes
how his couriers were a curse to the country and how
villages were everywhere fortified to resist their entrance.
Indeed, the whole of victorious Iran was laid waste as if
by an enemy and the population disappeared. To the
millions hoarded at Kalat other sums were added, and all
jewels were seized on the pretext that they must have
been stolen at Delhi. Had Nadir been wise enough to
unlock the doors of his treasure-house and support his
army on the millions acquired in India, prosperity would
quickly have returned to Iran and his dynasty might have
endured.

Sir Mortimer Durand has pointed out the curious
similarity between Nadir, the last great conqueror in Asia,

Lxx^i LAST YEARS OF NADIR SHAH 369

and Napoleon, the last great conqueror in Europe, both in
the extent of their conquests and in their deterioration of
character as a consequence of unbridled power. Had Nadir
Shah died after the campaigns in India, Bokhara, and
Khiva, he would have been the national hero for all time.
Unfortunately he lived to become justly hated by the nation
which he had saved from dismemberment.

VOL. II 2 B

Karim Khan.

CHAPTER LXXIII

THE SHORT-LIVED ZAND DYNASTY

It is pleasing to recount the actions of a chief, who, though born in
an inferior rank, obtained power without crime, and who exercised it with a
moderation that was, in the times in which he lived, as singular as his justice
and humanity. — Sir John Malcolm on Karim Khan.

Ahmad Khan, Durrani. — The assassination of Nadir
Shah was a signal for the break up of his composite army.
The act of the conspirators was approved of by all its
leaders except Ahmad Khan, Durrani, who commanded
the Afghan and Uzbeg contingents. With this force,
ten thousand strong, the Afghan chief sought to avenge
his fallen leader, but he was defeated and retreated to
Kandahar, where he founded a kingdom. The sinews of
war he obtained by the fortunate capture of a treasure
convoy containing part of the spoils of Delhi, and among
the jewels seized on this occasion was the famous diamond
known as the Kuh-i-Nur, or " Mountain of Light,'* which
now adorns the crown of the British sovereign. Ahmad
Khan reduced the whole of Afghanistan and took both
Herat and Meshed. He also invaded India repeatedly
and annexed Kashmir, Sind, and part of the Panjab. He
even held Delhi for a time. His great feat of arms was
the defeat of the Marathas at Panipat in a.d. 1761.

Adil Shahy a.h. 1160-1161 (1747-1748). — Ali Kuli,
nephew of Nadir, succeeded him on the throne under the
title of Adil Shah, or "The Just." His first act was to
issue a proclamation in which he accepted responsibility
for the murder of a tyrant who " delighted in blood and,

370

CH.LXXIII SHORT-LIVED ZAND DYNASTY 371

with unheard-of barbarity, made pyramids of heads of his
own subjects." ^ He despatched a force to Kalat-i-Nadiri
which massacred all the members of the family of the
Great Afshar and seized upon his treasures. An excep-
tion was made in favour of Shah Rukh Mirza, a boy of
fourteen, who was the son of the unfortunate Riza Kuli
by Fatima, daughter of Shah Husayn. Adil Shah, after
a short, inglorious reign, was dethroned and blinded by
his brother Ibrahim, who in turn was defeated, made
prisoner by his own troops, and put to death when on
the way to Meshed. Adil Shah was also put to death.

Shah Rukh. — Shah Rukh then ascended the throne.
It might have been thought that his descent and noble
qualities would have made his rule universally acceptable
in Persia, but a rival appeared in the person of Mirza
Sayyid Mohamed, son of a leading doctor of the law of
Meshed. This mujtahid^ had married a sister of Shah
Husayn, and his son, by raising the cry that Shah Rukh
intended to continue his grandfather's policy of subverting
the Shia doctrine, collected a force which defeated that
of Shah Rukh. The monarch was taken prisoner and
blinded ; but Yusuf Ali, his general, in whose absence
he had been overpowered, appeared on the scene, seized
the pretender, who had taken the name of Sulayman, and
after blinding him put him and his two sons to death.

Shah Rukh was restored to the throne, with Yusuf
Ali as Regent. Very shortly after this settlement two
chiefs, Mir Alum Khan and Jafar Khan, commanding
respectively a body of Arabs and a body of Kurds, de-
feated Yusuf Ali, and of course blinded him, while the
ill-starred Shah Rukh was relegated to prison. Needless
to say the two chiefs speedily quarrelled, Mir Alum was
the victor, and the vanquished Jafar Khan was added to
the long list of blind men.

Ahmad Shah, who had rapidly consolidated his power,
had advanced from Sistan on Herat in a.d. 1749. Shah
Rukh had despatched Yusuf Ali to meet him, and it was
during his absence on this duty that the Shah had been

1 Hanway, ii. p. 451.
2 M«;Vfl^/</ signifies literally "one who strives (after knowledge)."

372 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

defeated and captured. Ahmad Shah after occupying
Herat marched against Meshed. Mir Alum met him,
but was defeated and killed, and Meshed surrendered.
With a moderation both rare and sagacious, Ahmad Shah,
after adding Herat and Sistan to his kingdom, decided to
constitute Khorasan a separate state under Shah Rukh,
but acknowledging Afghan suzerainty. The Afghans,
it is interesting to note, have never forgotten that the
Pul-i-Abrisham, or " Bridge of Silk,'* some seventy miles
to the west of Sabzawar on the Meshed-Teheran road,
was once the western boundary of their empire.

The Origin of the Kajar Tribe, — The Kajar tribe is of
Turkish origin. Settled for a long time in Armenia, it
was brought to Persia by Tamerlane. As already men-
tioned, it was one of the Kizilbash tribes which supported
the Safavi dynasty. Shah Abbas divided the Kajars into
three sections. Of these, one was established at Merv,
a second in Georgia, and the third — which was sub-
divided into the Yukhari-bash and Ashagha-bash, or
"upper" and "lower" branches — on the River Gurgan.
It is with the Gurgan section alone that we are concerned.

The head of the " upper branch " was looked upon
as the chief of the whole tribe until Path Ali Khan
became the Commander-in-Chief of Shah Tahmasp, and
when holding this appointment transferred the chieftain-
ship to the "lower branch."

Mohamed Husayn Khan^ Kajar. — Upon the assassina-
tion of Path Ali Khan by Nadir, that general naturally
favoured the upper branch, and Mohamed Husayn Khan,
son of Path Ali Khan, fled to the Turkoman. By their
aid he for a time occupied Astrabad and incidentally
looted Hanway's goods, as mentioned in the previous
chapter ; but until the death of Nadir Shah he was unable
to effect anything of importance. Upon the assassination
of that tyrant he raised a force with which he opposed
Ahmad Shah successfully and occupied the Caspian pro-
vinces. He was thus in a position to fight for the throne.

Azad the Afghan and Mar dan Ali Khan^ Bakhtiari, —
Azerbaijan was at this time occupied by Azad, one of
Nadir's Afghan generals, who after warring with the

from a photograph hy Lo.. U---^

A BRIDGE AC

ROSS THE RIVER KARUX.

Lxxiii SHORT-LIVED ZAND DYNASTY 373

Prince of Georgia had made a treaty of peace, by the
terms of which the Aras was to serve as the boundary
of Persia. In Southern Persia another pretender was
Ali Mardan, a Bakhtiari chief, who obtained possession
of Isfahan in the name of a puppet Safavi prince termed
Ismail, and placed him on the throne.

Karim Khan^ Zand. — A fourth pretender was Karim
Khan, son of Aymak of the Zand, a section of the Lak
tribe.-^ Born to no high position, Karim had served Nadir
as a soldier without special distinction. He often told
how, being in want, he had stolen a gold-embossed saddle
from a saddler's shop, but learning that the saddler had
been sentenced to be hanged on account of its loss, he
was conscience-stricken and restored it ; and he heard with
pleasure the prayer of the saddler's wife that the man
who brought the saddle back might live to havt a hundred
gold -embossed saddles. At the period to which this
anecdote relates Karim was evidently a private soldier,
but when we first hear of him at Isfahan he had, by sheer
force of character, risen to power, and had joined the
Bakhtiari chief on equal terms. As invariably happened
in such combinations, jealousies arose and Ali Mardan
marked down the Zand for death. The latter, however,
rode off with his following, and shortly after the rupture
the Bakhtiari was assassinated. Karim Khan thereupon
became the sole ruler of Southern Persia, and by his
kindness, generosity, and justice won all hearts.

The Triangular Contest for Power. — The position in
Persia was extremely curious. Khorasan was left in the
undisturbed possession of Shah Rukh, while Karim Khan,
Mohamed Husayn Khan, and Azad fought for the throne.
Each in turn seemed likely to win, but the final victory
lay with the popular Zand chief.

The opening battle was fought between the Zand and
the Kajar on the borders of Mazanderan. After a hot
contest the Kajar won, but was unable to pursue owing
to the advance of the Afghan. The latter had invaded
Gilan, but on hearing of the victory of the Kajar retreated.

* This ancient Aryan tribe has its pastures in the vicinity of Shiraz. I met
a section to the south of Kerman, •vide. Ten Thousand Miles, etc., p. 428.

374 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Meanwhile Karim Khan had reorganized his forces and
prepared to attack, not Mohamed Husayn Khan as might
be supposed, but Azad. The Afghan shut himself up in
Kazvin and from this centre was able to drive off the
Zand chief. Again Karim Khan retired on Isfahan and
again he advanced. On this occasion, in a.h. i i 66 (1752),
he was defeated and was pursued right across Persia, past
Isfahan, to Shiraz. Even at his capital he was unable to
find refuge ; but, fleeing towards Bushire, he induced
Rustam Sultan, chief of Kisht, to come to his rescue.
On one of the diificult " ladders " of the Bushire road,
known as the Kotal-i-Kamarij, the Afghans pursued Karim
Khan, who awaited them in the valley below. No sooner
were they entangled in the almost perpendicular descent
than Rustam Sultan attacked them. The Afghans, caught
in a trap, fought bravely ; but their army was almost an-
nihilated, some fugitives alone escaping, and Karim Khan,
reinforced by the Arab chiefs, was soon back at Shiraz.

The Final Campaign^ a.h. 1171 {17 Si)- — "^^^ defeat
of Azad was followed by a campaign in Azerbaijan, in the
course of which the Kajar captured the chief centres of
the province. Azad disappeared from the list of pre-
tenders, and after having been for some time a fugitive,
surrendered to Karim Khan. The extraordinary confidence
in the high character of his rival which this surrender
showed was fully justified, for Azad was treated with the
utmost kindness and generosity.

In the following year Mohamed Husayn Khan marched
south against the Zand chief with a strong army fresh from
victories in Azerbaijan, and the prize seemed within his
grasp. Karim Khan, unable to meet him in the field, held
Shiraz, and harassed the foraging parties of the invaders.
He had carefully provisioned the city, but had laid the
neighbourhood waste. He then applied himself to
corrupting the leaders of the Kajar army, and with such
success that Mohamed Husayn Khan, deserted by con-
tingent after contingent, was forced to retire without
fighting a single engagement. The last blow in the
campaign was struck by Shaykh Ali Khan, under whom
served the picked troops of the Zand chief. Mohamed

'•^''iiir.-.l l(v ^MW""-^'

KARIM KHAN, ZAND.

(From an engraving after an original Persian painting m Sir John Malcolm's

History of Persia, 1815, \ol. li.)

Lxxiii SHORT-LIVED ZAND DYNASTY 375

Husayn Khan was at a disadvantage owing to a quarrel
with the chief of the rival branch of the Kajars, which
reduced his strength. Forced to fight, he held his ground
as long as there was any hope, and then attempted to
escape, but was recognized by the chief of the upper
branch, who pursued and killed him. This ended the
triangular duel between the three claimants, from which
Karim Khan by reason of his personal popularity emerged '
victorious, although frequently unsuccessful in the field.

The Reign of Karim Khan^ a.h. 1163-1193 (1750-
1799). — The total length of Karim Khan's reign was
twenty-nine years, and for over twenty he was undisputed
ruler of Persia. He refused the title of Shah — the puppet
Ismail was kept in captivity at Abadeh — and termed him-
self Vakil^ or Regent. Shiraz was his capital, and the fine
buildings, of which it still boasts, were all erected by him.

Of his justice, his sense of humour, and his kindliness,
I heard many instances when living at Shiraz, where his
name is still loved and revered. To give a single instance,
he was so anxious that his subjects should be happy that
if in any quarter of the town no music was heard he
invariably inquired what was wrong, and paid musicians
to play there. To quote a Persian writer, " The inhabi-
tants of Shiraz enjoyed the most perfect tranquillity and
happiness. In the society of moon-faced damsels they
passed their leisure hours ; the sparkling goblet circulated ;
and love and pleasure reigned in every breast.'* In close
touch with the people, aiFecting no state and yet shrewd
and capable, Karim Khan gave exhausted Iran two decades
of sorely needed rest, and when he died at a great age the
homely Zand chief was genuinely and deeply mourned.-^

The Occupation of Kharak by the Dutch, — During the
anarchy that prevailed in Persia the Dutch Government,
whose representative. Baron Kniphausen, had been ill-
treated and imprisoned at Basra, seized the island of
Kharak at the head of the Persian Gulf This act enabled
Kniphausen to blockade the Shatt-ul-Arab and compel
the Governor of Basra to make full amends for his mis-

^ lr\ A Tour to Sheera-z^ by E. S. Waring (1808), an interesting account is given of
Karim Khan and the later Zand Princes.

376 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

conduct. Thanks to Dutch protection, the barren island
became a thriving emporium and the population of one
hundred poverty-stricken fishermen expanded into a pros-
perous town of twelve thousand inhabitants. The Dutch
held Kharak for some years until it was taken from them
by a notorious pirate, Mir Mohanna of Bandar Rig, after
which its prosperity and its population alike disappeared.
The Foundation of the English Factory at Bushire^ a.d.
1763. — The Afghan invasion and the period of confusion
that followed were responsible for the closing of most of
the European factories in Persia, and some of them were
not reopened. The British factory at Bandar Abbas was
closed in 1761 owing to the extortions of the Governor
of Lar, and in 1763 Bushire, the port of Shiraz, was
selected as a new centre for commercial activity. Karim
Khan was anxious to foster this British trade, and his
farman^ of which I give a copy,^ was highly favourable in
its terms. In 1770 Bushire was relinquished in favour
of Basra, but three years later it was reoccupied, the factory
at Basra being retained with it. Since that date Bushire
has been the chief centre of British activity in the Persian

^ Royal Grant from Karim Khan, King of Persia, conferring various Privileges on
the English, and granting Permission to them to establish a Factory at Bushire, and to
Trade in the Persian Gulf. Schyrash, 2nd July, 1763.

Table of Contents

Art. %., " The English Company may have as much ground, and in any part of
Bushire, as they choose to build a factory on, or at any other port in the Gulf. They
may have as many cannon mounted on it as they choose, but not to be larger than 6
pounds bore j and they may build factory-houses in any part of the. kingdom they
choose."

(2) No Customs' Dues to be Levied on Goods Imported or Exported at Bushire
or elsewhere.

(3) No other European nation to Import Woollen Goods.

(4) Payment of Debts due to English Merchants and others.

(5) Right of English to Buy and Sell Goods.

(6) Prohibition against Clandestine Trade.

(7) Wrecks.

(8) Religious Liberty.

(9) Surrender of Deserters.

(10) Exemption of Brokers, Servants, and others belonging to Factories from
Payment of Taxes or Imposts.

(ii) '* Wherever the English are, they shall have a spot of ground allotted them
for a Burying Ground 5 and if they want a spot for a Garden, if the King's property, it
shall, be given them gratis 5 if belonging to any private person, they must pay a
reasonable price for it."

(12) "The House that formerly belonged to the English Company at Schyrash I
now re-deliver to them, with the garden and water thereto belonging."

(Quoted from Hertdet's Treaties, p. il.

Lxxiii SHORT-LIVED ZAND DYNASTY 377

Gulf. The trade was at first miserably small, only one
ship being despatched annually from Bombay, and until
1790 the establishment was maintained at an annual loss ;
but from that date onward trade increased by leaps and
bounds.

The Expedition Against Basra, a.h. i i 89-1 190 (1775-
1776). — Karim Khan engaged in an expedition against
Basra, mainly in order to occupy and pay his army ;
though he put forward the flimsy pretext that pilgrims to
the sacred sites were taxed. The place was taken by Sadik
Khan, brother of the Regent, after a blockade of thirteen
months. He treated the citizens jusdy, and was particu-
larly friendly to the British Resident. No attempt seems
to have been made by the Turks to recover Basra, but
upon the death of Karim Khan a few years later it was
evacuated by the Persians and fell again into their hands.

Zaki Khan. — Upon the death of the Vakil in 1779,
furious rivalries and ambitions were again unchained.
Not only was the Zand family weakened by family feuds
and assassinations, but the long struggle for power between
it and the Kajar dynasty was renewed — a struggle which
ended in the victory of the Kajars, who have ever since
remained the ruling family of Iran. Besides his brother
Sadik Khan, the captor of Basra, Karim Khan had also a
half-brother on his mother's side named Zaki Khan. This
man had once rebelled and had been pardoned. He was
subsequently appointed to command an expedition to
Damghan, where Husayn Kuli Khan,^ Kajar, had revolted.
This rising he quelled with barbarous cruelty, fastening
his prisoners to stakes and then " planting ** them head
foremost in the ground. He had displayed similar
ferocity elsewhere, and in consequence his name was both
feared and execrated all over Persia.

After the death of Karim Khan, Zaki Khan at once
usurped the government. A number of the Zand chiefs'
seized the Shiraz fort and declared for Abul Fatteh Khan,
son of the Vakil. Zaki Khan, who was supported by his
nephew Ali Murad, also declared for Abul Fatteh, and on
the strength of this made terms with the chiefs in the fort ;

1 Husayn Kuli Khan was the father of Fath Ali Shah.

378 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

but the moment they surrendered he handed them over to
the executioner.

Sadik Khan, who evacuated Basra upon hearing of the
death of his brother, was prepared to fight for the throne ;
but when Zaki gave out that he would kill the families of
Sadik's adherents in Shiraz his army deserted him, and he
fled to the fort of Bam in the Kerman province.

Zaki Khan, freed from internal troubles, sent Ali
Murad with a picked force to operate against the Kajar
Pretender Aga Mohamed, who was destined to found a
dynasty ; but the young Prince, disgusted with Zaki, per-
suaded his troops to rebel and seized Isfahan in the name
of Karim Khan's heir. Zaki Khan immediately collected
a force and marched on Isfahan. At the picturesque village
of Yazdikhast he claimed from the inhabitants a sum of
money which they were charged with having hidden ; and
upon their denying all knowledge of the matter he
sentenced eighteen of the leading villagers to be thrown
down the precipice on which the fort stands. He then
sent for a Sayyid^ or descendant of the Prophet, whom he
charged with being concerned in the same matter, and
although he protested his innocence he in turn was stabbed
and thrown over the precipice, while his wife and daughter
were given over to the tender mercies of the soldiers. That
night Zaki Khan was assassinated by his own officers.

Abul Fatteh^ Ali Murad^ and Sadik. — Abul Fatteh, a
weak and unambitious youth, was now placed on the throne,
but his uncle Sadik, returning from Bam, conspired against
him and blinded him. Ali Murad, who had appeared
again on the scene, fought at first in the interests of Abul
Fatteh, but subsequently avowed himself a claimant for the
throne. A force under Sadik Khan's son, Ali Naki, de-
feated and dispersed the army of Ali Murad ; whereupon
the young Prince, intoxicated with this easy success, wasted
his time in the palaces of Isfahan while Ali Murad was
collecting a formidable army. In a second battle, fought
near Hamadan, Ali Murad gained a complete victory ; he
then marched on Shiraz, which he blockaded for eight
months and took in a.h. 1195 (178 1). Upon its capture
Sadik Khan was put to death, together with all his sons

Lxxiii SHORT-LIVED ZAND DYNASTY 379

except Jafar, who had previously made terms with the
Conqueror.

The Reign of Alt Murad^ a.h. 1196-1199 (1782-1785).
— Ali Murad was now ruler of Persia and transferred the
seat of government to Isfahan. From this centre he
directed operations against the Kajars. At first his son
Shaykh Ovays was successful, capturing Sari and defeating
the Kajar chief. But the commander sent in pursuit of
the beaten foe became entangled in the defiles, and his
force was cut to pieces. This disaster threw the main
body into a panic. Sari was abandoned, and Mazanderan
was evacuated in disorder.

Ali Murad, after punishing the runaways, raised a
second army for operations in Mazanderan, which he was
supporting in person when he heard that Jafar had revolted
and was marching on Isfahan from Zanjan. Although he
was ill and the season was mid-winter, Ali Murad insisted
on returning to Isfahan, but died on the road at Murchi-
khar, the scene of the second defeat of the Afghans by
Nadir. Ali Murad was highly thought of by Aga
Mohamed, who used to say, " Let us wait until that
respectable, blind man (Ali Murad had lost one of his eyes)
is out of the way, and then, but not before, we may succeed
if we advance into Irak."

Jafar^A.u. 1 199-1203 (1785-1789). — Jafar now came
forward on the pretence of restoring order and invited
Shaykh Ovays to Isfahan to ascend the throne. With ex-
traordinary folly the young Prince trusted the man whose
father had been murdered by his own father, and entered
Isfahan ahead of his army. There he was seized and
blinded.

The protagonists in the struggle for the throne of
Persia were now Aga Mohamed and Jafar. The former
marched south as far as Kashan and after defeating the
army sent against him advanced on Isfahan. On his
approach Jafar fled to Shiraz. Aga Mohamed now
abandoned his true objective for minor operations in the
Bakhtiari country, from which in the end he was driven
back in disorder to Teheran. Jafar thereupon marched
north again and retook Isfahan. He then engaged in a

38o HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

campaign against his cousin Ismail Khan, who had revolted
while filling the post of Governor of Hamadan, but was
defeated in a.h. 1201 (1786) and forced to retire. He
also failed in an attack on Yezd, whose Governor received
aid from Tabas, a semi-independent district of Khorasan.
Aga Mohamed, having meanwhile united all the sections
of his tribe, again drove Jafar out of Isfahan and followed
him to Shiraz, but being unable to capture that city, re-
turned to Isfahan. Jafar detached his son Lutf Ali to
subdue the province of Lar ; this he accomplished and then
proceeded to Kerman. Isfahan was taken once again, and
once again abandoned, and Jafar retired finally to Shiraz.
There, as the result of a conspiracy, poisoned food was
given to him, and, the prisoners having been released,
his death was hastened by a more summary form of
assassination.

The Accession of Lutf Ali Khan. — Lutf Ali was now
obliged to flee from his own army at Kerman to escape
his father's fate. He took refuge with the Arab chief of
Bushire, thanks to whose support he was enabled to enter
Shiraz. There he put to death Sayyid Murad, its
Governor, who had declared himself King, and then
ascended the throne. Shortly afterwards Aga Mohamed
marched south and was attacked by the young Prince,
who, however, was soon compelled to retire on Shiraz
owing to the defection of one of his contingents. As before,
Shiraz remained impregnable and Aga Mohamed returned
to Teheran.

The Expedition of Lutf Ali against Kerman^ a.h. 1205
(1790). — In the following year Aga Mohamed was
engaged in a campaign in Azerbaijan, and Lutf Ali, un-
willing, if not unable, to support the forces he had collected
at the expense of the province of Fars, marched against
Kerman. Its Governor agreed to pay revenue and to
submit, but declined to appear in the royal camp. Lutf
Ali refused to accept this partial submission and besieged
Kerman ; but the winter was unusually severe, and lack
of supplies forced him to raise the siege and retire.

Haji Ibrahim, — One of the striking personalities of the
period — he may even be termed a King-Maker — was Haji

LUTF ALI KHAN.
(From a picture in the I'alace at Shiraz. )
(Taken from Sir Harford Jones Brydges' Mission to Persia.)

Lxxiii SHORT-LIVED ZAND DYNASTY 381

Ibrahim, son of Haji Hashim, a magistrate of Shiraz.
He had rendered good service to Jafar by securing the
adhesion of his native city when the Zand chief had fled
from Isfahan, and had been rewarded by appointment as
Kalantar^ of Fars, a position which is still held by his
family. Upon the assassination of Jafar, Haji Ibrahim won
over the Shirazis to the side of Lutf Ali, who consequently
owed to him his throne. Lutf Ali was noted before his
accession for kindness of heart and generosity, and these
qualities, combined with his unrivalled skill as a leader and
man-at-arms, caused him to be beloved by all ; but upon
securing the throne he became imperious and overbearing.
During his absence in Kerman many charges had been
made against Haji Ibrahim, who was a strong and astute
personality somewhat after the type of Bismarck, and whose
services to his master were dangerous by reason of their
magnitude. The case which convinced him that it would
be imprudent to continue to serve Lutf Ali was that of
a certain Mirza Mehdi, an army accountant who had been
convicted of embezzlement by Jafar and sentenced to lose
his ears. When Jafar had been assassinated his head was
cut off and thrown from the citadel, and it was alleged
against Mirza Mehdi that he had avenged himself by
cutting off the ears from his master's head. Haji Ibrahim,
aflSrming that he did not believe the report, had persuaded
Lutf Ali to pardon the man, and even to bestow upon him
a robe of honour. Jafar's widow reproached her son for
this treatment of a man guilty of so great an insult to the
dead Jafar, and thereupon Lutf Ali, in a hasty moment, con-
demned him to be flung into a fire. Haji Ibrahim himself
informed Malcolm that this was the reason for his deser-
tion of Lutf Ali ; but it is more probable that his treachery
had a personal motive, in the desire to be dissociated from
a losing cause.

His Successful Plot. — In a.h. 1205 (1791) Lutf Ali
marched north to meet the army of Aga Mohamed, and
Haji Ibrahim took advantage of his absence from Shiraz

^ Kalantar signifies Chief Civil Magistrate. The Kaivam-ul-Mulk is the title now
borae by the head of the family. In a poem by Hafiz reference is made to Haji Kawam-
u-Din and the late Kaivam-ul-Mulk quoted the verse to me and stated that it referred to
his ancestor. This, however, is denied in some quarters.

382 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

to seize the commanders of the garrison and of the
citadel. He then communicated with one of his brothers,
who excited a mutiny in the army. Lutf Ali, deserted
by his officers, retired on Shiraz, which he hoped to
recover, but he was deserted by all his soldiers and forced
to flee to the coast. The Shaykh of Bushire who had
formerly befriended him was dead, and his successor was
hostile, but, nothing daunted, he collected a small force
at Bandar Rig, and after defeating first the Shaykh of
Bushire and then the Governor of Kazerum reappeared
before Shiraz.

The Campaigns of Lutf Ali Khan against Aga Mohamed,
— The military qualities of Lutf Ali Khan shone brilliantly
in the unequal struggle that followed. He was first
victorious over a force detached by Aga Mohamed to
support Haji Ibrahim at Shiraz. A powerful army sent
to avenge this disaster had actually defeated the Zand
Prince, when, rallying his men, he charged the Kajar
troops who were looting his camp and turned his reverse
into a decisive victory. Aga Mohamed at length took
the field in person with his main force, but the gallant
Lutf Ali charged and scattered the advance-guard. Then
by night he penetrated the Kajar army, which partially
dispersed, and he would have entered the royal tent, but,
being assured that his enemy had fled, he decided to
await the dawn in order to make sure of the treasure.
To his dismay the Muezzin sounded the call to prayer,
which proved that Aga Mohamed had not fled, and, his
Arabs having scattered in search of plunder, the ill-fated
prince was compelled to retreat, and so lost the throne of
Persia,

Upon reaching the province of Kerman he set about
collecting a new force, but his Kajar pursuers were too
numerous to be faced, and he fled to Tabas, where Mir
Hasan Khan ^ espoused his cause. With a small body of
two hundred men he crossed the Lut to Yezd, whose
Governor he defeated, and then marched to Abarguh on
the northern borders of Pars. Being joined there by his

1 Malcolm terms him Husayn, but I have the authority of the present chief for
writing Hasan.

c/: .'

kMi^HUBMB^^UdMliaBl^MaMMiltoaa*

Lxxiii SHORT-LIVED ZAND DYNASTY 383

adherents, he laid siege to Darabjird, but a Kajar army
forced him to retreat on Tabas, whose chief advised him
to seek the support of Timur Shah, the Durrani Amir.
He followed this advice, and was actually travelling towards
Kandahar when news reached him of the death of the
Afghan Amir.

The Final Act of the Drama, a,h, 1208 (1794). — While
hesitating what course to pursue, the Zand refugee received
letters from two chiefs of Narmashir offering him their
support. He hastened to accept this opportune proposal
and determined to surprise Kerman with the men he was
able to collect. Moving by forced marches, he detached
his uncle Abdulla Khan to make a feint on one side of
the city, and when the defenders' attention was fully
occupied he escaladed the fort before the alarm could be
given. The garrison fought stoutly, but was overcome,
and Kerman fell to Lutf Ali Khan through' this brilliant
feat of arms.

Aga Mohamed realized the seriousness of the situation,
and with all the troops he could muster advanced to fight
what proved to be the last campaign against his rival.
Some four miles to the west of Kerman lies the entrenched
camp which formed the headquarters of the besiegers.
For four months the heroic Lutf Ali held out in the city,
until famine had cut off more than half its inhabitants.
At length the Kajar troops were admitted by treachery,
but were beaten back. But they were admitted again,
and on this occasion in overwhelming force. Seeing that
all was lost and that the city gates were guarded, Lutf
Ali, after keeping up the fight until dark, crossed the
ditch on planks by night with only three followers, and
breaking through the cordon escaped to Bam, one hundred
and twenty miles to the east.

A brother of the chief of Bam had been among the
supporters of Lutf Ali in Kerman, and, having no news
of this brother, the chief came to the conclusion that he
must have fallen into the hands of the Kajars. He
decided in consequence to attempt to win the favour of
Aga Mohamed by seizing his guest, who, though warned
of his danger, refused to believe in the possibility of such

384 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, lxxih

unspeakable treachery. In the end he mounted his horse
to escape, but the beast was hamstrung, and the last
Persian hero fell wounded into the hands of his deadly
foe. No mercy was shown by the victor. The gallant
Lutf Ali was blinded — according to one account, by the
very hands of the brutal Aga Mohamed — besides suffering
other indignities. He was then sent to Teheran, where
he was strangled.

The Fate of Kerman. — Kerman was treated with almost
inconceivable cruelty. Not only were its women handed
over to the soldiery, who were encouraged to rape and to
murder, but the Kajar victor ordered that twenty thousand
pairs of eyes should be presented to him. These he
carefully counted, and then he remarked to the officer
charged with the atrocious task, "Had one pair been
wanting, yours would have been taken ! " Thus almost
the entire male population was blinded, and their women
were handed over to the soldiery as slaves. In order to
commemorate the capture of Lutf Ali Khan in a suitable
manner, Aga Mohamed ordered six hundred prisoners to
be decapitated. Their skulls were then carried to Bam by
three hundred other prisoners, who were then also killed,
and a pyramid of skulls was erected on the spot where
Lutf Ali Khan was taken. This pyramid was seen by
Pottinger in 1 8 10. Kerman has never recovered. To-day
it possesses more beggars and suffers from greater poverty
than perhaps any other city in Persia.

The Downfall of the Zand Dynasty, — The awful
massacre and the extirpation of the family ended the
short-lived Zand dynasty. Lutf Ali possessed remarkable
beauty of physique, a valour which has seldom, if ever,
been exceeded, and leadership in the field of a very high
order. Unfortunately his severity and his imperious and
overbearing character, which would not allow him to stoop
to conciliation, cost him the support of the great families.
Fighting gallantly against hopeless odds, he long main-
tained the struggle, but in the end he lost the throne of
Persia to the rival Kajar chief.^

^ In the introduction to The Dynasty of the Kajars^ Sir H. Jones Brydges gives an
interesting account of the interviews he had with Lutf Ali Khan, who impressed him
most favourably.

Aga Mohamed Shah.

CHAPTER LXXIV

THE FOUNDING OF THE KAJAR DYNASTY

Aga Mohamed 6talt dans Tusage, k regard de ses servlteurs qui avaient le
malheur de lui d^plaire, de leur faire ouvrir le ventre, et arracher les entrailles.
Nous pourrions citer sa vie enti^re, pour montrer a quel point cet homme
fut atroce. — Voyage en Perscj by G. A. Olivier, v. 136. ,

^ga Mohamed Khan^ Kajar. — The memory of few
Persians is so universally execrated as that of Aga
Mohamed Khan, the founder of the Kajar dynasty. The
eldest of the nine sons of Mohamed Husayn Khan, he
was captured and castrated by Adil Shah when a boy of
five, and this misfortune would sufficiently account for
the vindictiveness and cruelty which have branded the
Eunuch-Monarch for all time.-^

Karim Khan, who was eminently conciliatory, had
married Aga Mohamed's sister, and treated his brother-
in-law, who lived at his court as a hostage, with special
kindness. Moreover, realizing his shrewdness and
capacity, he frequently asked his advice and paid him
the signal compliment of naming him Piran-wisa, after
the celebrated Vizier of Afrasiab, the legendary King of
Turan. This kindness the vindictive Kajar repaid by
cutting the carpets he sat on in the audience-room.

Hearing from his sister that Karim Khan was at the
point of death, Aga Mohamed quitted Shiraz on the
pretext of a hawking excursion, and on his return learned
at the city gate that the Regent was dead. He immedi-

1 The character of Aga Mohamed is well pourtrayed in the historical novel Zohrab
the Hostage, by James Morier. G. A. Olivier in vol. v. of his Voyage en Perse also
gives an excellent contemporary account.

VOL. II 385 2 C

386 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

ately loosed a hawk and under the pretence of looking
for it disappeared from sight and rode off north. He
reached Isfahan, a distance of three hundred and sixteen
miles, in three days, and almost without halting continued
his journey to Mazanderan, seizing a revenue caravan on
the way. Upon his arrival in his native province many
members of his tribe rallied round him. He was, how-
ever, opposed by his half-brother, Murtaza Kuli,^ who
proclaimed himself king, and it was not until after many
vicissitudes of fortune, during the course of which he was
once taken prisoner, that he was in a position to make
himself master of the Caspian provinces.

The Expulsion of a Russian Expedition by Aga Mohamed^
A.D. 178 1. — During this period of his chequered career
Aga Mohamed came into contact with a Russian expedi-
tion, consisting of four frigates and two sloops, which
in 1 78 1 anchored off Ashraff and extorted permission to
construct a trading factory. When the fortress — for such
it proved to be — was nearly completed, the Khan invited
the Russian officers to an entertainment, where they were
seized. They were then offered the alternative of either
destroying their fort or being hanged. Their choice was
soon made ; the fort was demolished, and the Muscovites
were driven with contumely back to their ships.

The Independent Provinces of Persia. — The series of
campaigns culminating in the awful tragedy in the Kerman
province described in the previous chapter left Aga
Mohamed the victor but hardly the undisputed master ot
Persia. Before we come to the steps he took to con-
solidate his power at home and abroad, it is necessary
to give a brief account both of the independent provinces
of Persia and also of her neighbours.

Khorasan was nominally ruled by the unfortunate
Shah Rukh, but in reality was broken up among a
number of independent chiefs. At Meshed the two sons
of the monarch, NasruUa Mirza and Nadir Mirza^ fought
for power, and their feuds resulted in the plunder of the
shrine of the Imam Riza, each prince in turn robbing it of

1 His only full brother, Husayn Kuli Khan, the father of Fath Ali Shah, had been
killed by the Turkoman at the instigation of the Kajar Khan of the rival branch, after
his flight from Damghan recorded in the previous chapter.

Lxxiv FOUNDING OF KAJAR DYNASTY 387

some of its treasures. NasruUa Mirza^ being worsted,
sought aid from Karim Khan, but this was refused, and
soon afterwards he died.

Meshed was next seized by Mamish Khan of Chinaran,
a petty Kurdish chief, who held it for five years until the
authority of Shah Rukh was restored by Timur Shah, the
Durrani monarch, who retained the suzerainty established
by his father. Of the independent rulers, Ishak Khan
Karai was the most celebrated. A man of low birth, he
occupied Turbat-i-Haydari, some eighty miles to the
south of Meshed, and built a caravanserai with money
supplied by the chief of his tribe. Before the completion
of this building, which was strongly fortified, intrigues
had resulted in the death of his master, whose sons fled
the country, and Ishak Khan gradually carved out a
province for himself and became a power in the land.

In the south of the province, Mir Hasan Khan of
Tabas, a descendant of the Beni Shayban who had aided
Lutf Ali, held a district bordering on the Lut and played a
leading part in Khorasan. Of the other districts, Nishapur
was independent under a Bayat chief ; Kain was under an
Arab ruler descended from the Khuzayma ; Turshiz was
ruled by another Arab family of the Mishmast tribe.
Zafaranlu Kurds governed in Kuchan and Shadillu Kurds
in Bujnurd ; Sabzawar was held by a chief of the Ghilichi,
a Turkish tribe, and finally Sistan was ruled by a petty
chief who claimed Keianian descent.^

We now turn westward to Kurdistan. The descend-
ants of the ancient Karduchi maintained almost complete
independence on the Persian side of the frontier, and on
the Turkish side only the sections occupying accessible
lands obeyed the Pasha of Baghdad. Of the Kurdish
chiefs on the Persian side of the frontier, the most
powerful was Khusru Khan, Vali of Ardelan. From
Sinna, his capital, he ruled a large district, and at this city
his son entertained Malcolm in princely fashion in 1 8 1 o.
The Vali of Ardelan had supported the claims of Karim
Khan, but afterwards, having espoused the cause of Ismail

1 It has been my task to trace the fortunes of these tribes, almost all of which are
to be found in or near the districts they ruled a century ago.

388 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Khan and defeated Jafar Khan, he sent the spoils to Aga
Mohamed Khan and thenceforward became his staunch
supporter. Baluchistan at this period was ruled by Nasir
1.5 the Great, who reigned from 1750 to 1793, and whose
sway was acknowledged as far west as Bampur. He was
entirely independent. The rest of Persia had been the
cock-pit for the various pretenders to the throne, who
had fought for power as far north as the Caspian Sea and
as far south as the Persian Gulf.

The Neighbouring States, — Among the foreign countries
Afghanistan was peaceful under Timur Shah ; and his son
Zaman Shah at the opening of his reign was too much
occupied with internal troubles to be an aggressive
neighbour. Bokhara was ruled by Begi Jan,^ a Dervish
of the royal house, who extended the sway of the Uzbegs
over the whole of the region lying between the Amu
Darya and the Sir Darya. The reduction of Merv
opened the way for an invasion of Khorasan. In a.h.
1209 (1794) Begi Jan led his horsemen to the gates of
Meshed, but, finding it beyond his power to reduce
the capital of Khorasan, he informed his army that the
Imam Riza had appeared to him in a dream and commanded
him to spare the sacred city. It is curious that the
Uzbegs were content to raid and never attempted to
conquer Khorasan.

Turkey, which for many centuries had been Iran's
most formidable and aggressive neighbour, was at this
period too much occupied with European politics to take
any active interest in Persian affairs. The Ottoman
power was represented by Sulayman Aga, the Pasha of
Baghdad, who had defended Basra against the forces of
Karim Khan. His policy, much to the advantage of Aga
Mohamed, was invariably friendly towards Persia.

The Invasion of Georgia^ a.h. 1209 (1795). — We come
next to the state of Georgia. Upon the death of Nadir
Shah, Heraclius, who had served him faithfully, had not
only freed himself but, as already mentioned, had annexed
Persian territory up to the Araxes. He was, however,
shrewd enough to realize that as soon as Persia was reunited

^ Malcolm, ii. p. 243, gives an interesting account of this remarkably clever man.

Txxiv FOUNDING OF KAJAR DYNASTY 389

Georgia would be invaded. By way of insurance against
such an event Heraclius in 1783 signed a treaty with
Russia, in which he renounced all connexion with Persia
and entered into an offensive and defensive alliance with
the Northern Power. The Empress Catherine, in turn,
bound herself and her successors to protect the integrity
of Georgia.

In 1795 Aga Mohamed, after summoning Heraclius
to do homage, advanced from Ardebil with an army sixty
thousand strong, marching in three divisions. The first
moved by the plain of Moghan to levy arrears of
tribute ; the second marched on Erivan, which was
garrisoned by fifteen thousand Georgians ; and the third
under the Shah himself undertook the reduction of Shisha,
a hill-fort situated on the left bank of the Aras. Aga
Mohamed, after failing in his attack on Shisha* left a force
to blockade it and joined the second division before
Erivan. That famous fortress also was too strong to be
taken by an enemy unprovided with a battering train, and
consequently the Shah was again obliged to leave a portion
of his army to blockade the garrison. He then marched
to Ganja, where he eflFected a junction with the column
which had passed through Moghan unopposed. Heraclius,
instead of relying on his fortresses and awaiting aid from
Russia, rashly met the invaders though they outnumbered
him in the proportion of four to one, and the Georgians
after a heroic struggle were overpowered and defeated.
Tiflis was taken by the Persians without resistance. The
old and infirm and all the priests were massacred, and
the able-bodied of both sexes, to the number of twenty
thousand, were carried ojfFinto slavery. Erivan surrendered
to the Shah after the fall of Tiflis, but Shisha continued
to resist.

The Coronation of Aga Mohamed Khan^ a.h. 12 10
(1796). — Aga Mohamed had not been formally crowned,
but on returning from his successful expedition into
Georgia he consented to the ceremonial after repeated
entreaties. He judiciously refused to wear the four-
plumed crown of Nadir Shah, and contented himself with
a small circular diadem known as Kulla Keiani^ or the

390 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

" Keianian Headpiece." He also girded on the sacred
sword of the Safavis at Ardebil.

The Reduction of Khorasan^ a.h. 1210 (1796), —
Strengthened in prestige by his coronation, the Shah
determined to subdue Khorasan. He marched by way
of Astrabad, which he beautified with buildings that still
remain, and after punishing the Turkoman directed his
march on Meshed. No resistance was even contemplated,
the petty chiefs mentioned above proflFered their allegiance
one by one, and Nadir Mirza fled to Afghanistan, leaving
his blind parent to the tender mercies of his hereditary
enemy.

The main objects of Aga Mohamed were to seize
Khorasan and to strengthen it against the Uzbegs. In
addition, he coveted the splendid jewels which he knew
that Shah Rukh possessed and had concealed from every
one. The wretched man, now over sixty years of age,
swore solemnly that he had nothing of the kind, but his
oaths were disregarded and torture was applied by the
pitiless Kajar. Day by day, under the influence of the
agony inflicted, he revealed the secret hiding-places of
his hoarded wealth. The celebrated ruby of Aurangzeb
was produced only when a circle of paste had been put
upon his head and molten lead poured on to it. Aga
Mohamed, with whom love of jewelry was almost a
mania, was overjoyed at securing this priceless stone.
He gave orders for the tortures to cease ; but they had
been too much for the descendant of Nadir Shah, who
died soon afterwards from their eflPects.

The Russian Invasion^ a.h. 12 10 (1796). — In connexion
with the struggle for power between Aga Mohamed and
his half-brothers, reference has already been made to
Murtaza Kuli Khan, who after his defeat fled to Russia.
There he was well treated, and it was apparendy intended
to utilize him for the furtherance of Russian ambitions.
Catherine was undoubtedly chagrined by her failure to
succour Georgia in accordance with the treaty, and
determined to avenge the Persian invasion. In 1796 a
Russian army forty thousand strong compelled the sur-
render of Derbent, Baku and other fortified places, and

l-'ro)ii a />Jioto^y<ip/t /y Major J. //'. ll'nison.

THE HALL OK AUDIKXCE, ASTRARAD.

Lxxiv FOUNDING OF KAJAR DYNASTY 391

the Russian general encamped for the winter on the
plain of Moghan, with the entire country to the north
in his possession. Aga Mohamed was preparing to take
the field in the spring, when the Empress Catherine died,
the army was withdrawn, and the Russian peril disappeared.

The Shah, delighted at this extraordinary piece of
good fortune, resolved to invade Georgia again. He
was within sixty miles of the Araxes when the inhabitants
of Shisha, who had expelled their governor, begged him
to take possession of the fortress. After a forced march
he found the Aras in flood ; but his men crossed it,
partly in boats and partly by swimming, and Shisha at
last fell into his hands.

The Assassination of Aga Mohamed Shah^ a.h. 121 i
(1797). — Three days after the capture of this stronghold,
the Shah was disturbed by the noise of a quarrel between
two of his personal servants, and ordered that both should
be at once put to death. Sadik Khan Shakaki interceded
for them, and on the ground that it was the night of
Friday ^ and sacred to prayer, the execution of the sentence
was deferred until the following morning. With folly
so extreme that it almost suggests mental derangement,
Aga Mohamed allowed the condemned men meanwhile
to perform their duties about his person. At night, with
the aid of a third accomplice, they assassinated their
master. Like his victim, Shah Rukh, he died in the
sixty-third year of his age.

His Character, — Thanks to Malcolm we have a life-
like portrait of the Eunuch -Shah. At a distance his
slight form resembled that of a youth, but a close in-
spection revealed a beardless and shrivelled face horrible
to contemplate. Yet he was a remarkable man, and his
keen insight into character, his sagacity, patience, and
courage secured to him the throne of Persia in spite of
his physical disabilities. Malcolm states that his three
ruling passions were power, avarice, and revenge, but
that he was able to subordinate everything to his passion
for power. This was in the first instance personal, but
it also aimed at making the Kajars the royal tribe. Seeing

^ The night of Friday begins at sunset on Thursday.

392 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

clearly that his ambition could not be realized unless he
was supported by a united tribe, he forgave the Kajar
chiefs who had killed his father and had insulted himself,
and bound them to him by repeated acts of kindness.
He showed his judgment and insight by the unreserved
trust he reposed in Haji Ibrahim ; although, according
to common belief, he warned his heir that he was too
powerful a subject to be allowed to live. He treated his
soldiers with justice, and, if policy demanded it, he could
display moderation, the rarest of qualities in a despot.

As we have seen in his dealings with Shah Rukh,
avarice was a besetting vice. One of his methods of
making money was to sell an intended victim to an
enemy, with full powers to wring out the last coin
in the wretched man's possession. In the pursuit of
money he displayed a childishness which is not un-
frequently associated with absolute power. He once
overheard a peasant whose ears he had ordered to be
cut off promising the executioner a few pieces of silver
if only the tips were cut. The offender was astonished
when the Shah informed him that, by doubling the offer
in favour of his sovereign, he could save his ears entirely !

Aga Mohamed^s cruelty has been sufficiently exempli-
fied. Of his treachery it will be enough to give a single
instance. His brother, Jafar Kuli Khan, who had served
him with conspicuous valour, asked for the governorship
of Isfahan as a reward. This was refused, and, as he
subsequently evaded a request to appear at Court, Aga
Mohamed became seriously alarmed. Fearing to employ
force, he induced Jafar Kuli's mother to persuade her
son that the Shah was ready to appoint him to Isfahan,
on the sole condition that he should pass through Teheran
and declare his forgiveness for the treatment he had
received. These representations were supported by solemn
assurances of safety. The Prince, too confiding, believed
them, and was assassinated by order of his brother. The
latter, in order to keep the letter of his oath on the Koran
that Jafar Kuli should spend only one night at Teheran,
had the corpse immediately removed. This dastardly
act recalls the dark deeds attributed to Louis XI. of

ftt._

'•'-,', ■Mv>-,J hv I'-VVs-'-i^

AGA MAHOMED KHAN.

(From an original Persian painting.)

(From Sn- John Malcolm's History of Persia, 1815, vol. ii. )

Lxxiv FOUNDING OF KAJAR DYNASTY 393

France, whom Aga Mohamed closely resembled, alike
in his tortuous policy, his aversion to display, and his
strange devotional fervour. As a ruler he was not faced
with the difficulties of Nadir Shah, being singularly
fortunate in the unaggressive character of his two im-
portant neighbours, Turkey and Afghanistan. Although
not a great soldier, he overcame all rivals, mainly through
his judgment and practical capacity, and thereby succeeded
in once more uniting Iran. Oderint dum metuant might
have been his motto, but he lived in a cruel age when
might was right. It must be placed on record to his
credit that after his authority had been established the
roads became safe and trade prospered, whereas under
Nadir the country had been depopulated.

The Accession of Fath Ali Shah, — The body of Aga
Mohamed was left unburied in the wild confusion that
followed his death. The army for the most part broke
up and dispersed, but the influence of Haji Ibrahim kept
together a sufficient force to march to Teheran in support
of Fath Ali, the nephew and heir of the deceased
Shah. The capital was held in his behalf by a Kajar
chief, and upon his arrival from Fars, of which he was
governor, he was admitted and instandy proclaimed Shah.

Various Pretenders. — Sadik Khan Shakaki, who after
the assassination of Aga Mohamed had secured possession
of the crown jewels, collected fifteen thousand Kurds and
made a bid for the throne. He marched on Kazvin, and
was defeated in its vicinity by Fath Ali Shah, whose force
was only half that of his rival. Sadik Khan fled and pur-
chased his pardon, not once but twice, by means of the
crown jewels. Another claimant was Mohamed Khan, son
of Zaki Khan Zand, who gained possession of Isfahan, but
was soon driven out to the Bakhtiari Mountains. Aided
there by some Kurds, he attempted to surprise a Persian
army under Mohamed Vali Khan, but was defeated,
captured, and blinded. A third pretender was Husayn
Kuli Khan, brother of the Shah. This prince had done
good service against Sadik Khan and had been rewarded
by the Governorship of Fars. There he wasted his time
in pleasure and dissipation until, resenting the appoint-

394 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, lxxiv

ment from Teheran of a general to command the Fars
army, he rebelled. He was joined by Mohamed Vali
Khan, and the Shah was at the same time further
weakened by the revolt of Sulayman Khan Kajar, the
Governor of Azerbaijan, who hoped to gain the throne
by attacking whichever of the two brothers emerged as
victor from the impending struggle. But the brothers
came to terms, owing to the intervention of their mother,
and Sulayman Khan, seeing his hopes disappear, took
sanctuary in the royal stable at Teheran. With remark-
able generosity the Shah not only pardoned him, but
reappointed him Governor of Azerbaijan.

The last important pretender was Nadir Mirza, who
on hearing of the death of Aga Mohamed had returned
to Khorasan from Afghanistan and taken possession of
Meshed. The Shah marched into Khorasan to assert
his authority. Nishapur shut its gates and was stormed,
and Turbat-i-Haydari also was taken. Upon the arrival
of the Persian army before Meshed, Nadir Mirza
submitted and was pardoned.

Fath Ali Shah.

CHAPTER LXXV

BRITISH AND FRENCH MISSIONS AT THE COURT OF

FATH ALI SHAH

*
Buonaparte saisit adroltement roccaslon de la paix de Tilsit pour engager
Alexandre d'envoyer une arm^e le printemps prochain en Perse, qui s'unirait
avec une armde fran9aise qui devait passer par Constantinople et T Asie Mineure,
et de \k traversant la Perse, organiser les troupes que la Cour d'Isfahan devait
donner pour sa part, et commencer quelque acte hostile contre les possessions
de la Compagnie des Indes. — From an Official Document oj the period.

The Afghan duestion. — It is interesting to trace the
beginning of the permanent British connexion^ with
Persia rather more than a century ago, but it is difficult
to-day to realize that the cause of the despatch of the first
mission to the Court at Teheran was the hope that Persian
military action would restrain Zaman Shah, Amir of Kabul,
who after establishing his position at home was aspiring
to continue the aggressive r61e originated by Ahmad
Shah. In 1798 Lord Wellesley, the Governor-General
of Bengal, received a letter from the Afghan prince giving
notice of his proposed expedition into India, and re-
questing that the English army should co-operate in
driving back the Marathas from the north into the Deccan.
The Governor-General at this period was at war with
Tippu Sultan, who with French assistance was making
great effi^rts to drive the British out of India ; and in

^ Malcolm's history ends at this point. Among the many works consulted by me
are England and Russia in the East, by Sir H. Rawlinson j History of Persia, by R. G.
Watson j The War in Afghanistan^ and Life of Sir John Malcolm, by J. W. Kaye, and
Mission to the Court of Persia, by Sir Harford Jones Brydges.

395

396 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

pursuance of this object he had urged Zaman Shah to
invade the Panjab. Tippu was fortunately killed at the
fall of Seringapatam, in 1798, but this success did not
cause Wellesley to relax his precautions towards the
north, more especially as he was aware of negotiations
which were being conducted with the Afghan Amir, by
Vizier Ali of Oude and other powerful Indians, including
Hindu Rajahs. To combat these dangerous intrigues the
Governor-General instructed Mehdi Ali Khan, a natural-
ized Persian who was acting as the Company's Resident
at Bushire, " to take measures for inducing the Court
of Persia to keep Shah Zaman in perpetual check (so as
to preclude him from returning to India), but without
any decided act of hostility." The success of this policy
of inducing Persia to intervene in Afghanistan was
already assured. Zaman Shah about this period had
instructed his Vizier to send an envoy to Haji Ibrahim
with a demand that his master should surrender Khorasan
to Afghanistan. This demand naturally irritated the
young Shah, who dictated a reply to the effect that it was
his intention to restore the eastern boundaries of Persia
to the condition which had existed under the Safavi
dynasty. In other words, the independence of Afghanistan
was to be swept away, Herat, Kandahar, and Kabul being
all included in the Safavi Empire. Fath Ali Shah held
good cards, for two of Zaman Shah's brothers, Mahmud
and Firu^, had taken refuge with the "Asylum of the
Universe." In 1798 these princes were sent with a
Persian force to Afghanistan ; but little was effected. In
the following year Fath Ali Shah took the field in person.
He led an army into Khorasan to punish the governors
and chiefs who had rebelled. There he received an
embassy from Zaman Shah requesting him to return to
Teheran ; and to this he tamely agreed, on condition that
the Amir's fugitive brothers should be well received in
Afghanistan. The actual result of the Persian military
operations was slight, but the consequent retirement of
Zaman Shah from Lahore to Peshawar, in order that he
might be ready to fight if necessary, relieved the Afghan '
pressure on India.

Lxxv BRITISH AND FRENCH MISSIONS 397

The Mission of Mehdi Ali Khan, 1799. — Mehdi Ali
Khan, a skilful diplomatist of the Persian school, had written
letters from Bushire to the Court at Teheran in which
he excited the indignation of the Shah by an account of
atrocities committed by the Sunni Afghans on the Shias
of Lahore, thousands of whom, he declared, had fled for
refuge to the territories ruled by the East India Company,
and at the same time urged that if Zaman Shah were
checked a service would be rendered to God and man.
He stated, furthermore, that the Governor-General did
not at all apprehend an Afghan invasion of Hindustan,
because the fame of the English artillery was well known.
As an example of what English troops could do, he
asserted that seven hundred of these brave soldiers had
defeated fhe army of Suraj-u-Dola numbering three
hundred thousand men ! *

In the autumn of 1799 Mehdi Ali Khan was received
in person by the Shah. Spending large sums in presents,
he succeeded in persuading the Persian monarch to
continue hostilities against Afghanistan ; and he then
returned to Bushire, where he met Captain Malcolm,
who had recently landed on his first memorable mission.

The French Peril to India, — It was owing to the
fantastic strain in Napoleon Buonaparte's character that
Persia was brought within the orbit of European politics.
Among his far-reaching plans was one for using the Shah
as an instrument in his scheme of world politics, more
especially in connexion with the invasion of India ; and
at this time the minds of the British rulers in that country
were obsessed with fears of such an attack. To us, who
have studied large scale maps and are familiar with the
barrenness both of Persia and of Afghanistan, the scheme
has an impracticable appearance. But in 1800 it was
seriously contemplated by the Emperor Paul of Russia and
by Napoleon, to both of whom the difficulties to be
encountered were unknown. Examining the project on
a small scale map, they saw that the shortest line to India
ran via Baku across the Caspian Sea to Astrabad Bay.
From this point the line would pass through Astrabad,
Meshed, and Herat, and doubtless both the Persians

398 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

and the Afghans would have been invited to join in the
looting of India. Had the scheme ever taken practical
shape it must have ended in disaster, owing not only
to lack of supplies and sickness, but to attacks by local
tribes and to the length ^ of the line of communications
from France and from the Volga to India.

It may be thought that our statesmen in India should
have realized these facts. It must, however, be re-
membered that preparations were actually made by
Russia and that the scheme was upset only by the
assassination of the Tsar. Moreover, the genius of
Napoleon was so dazzling that no project seemed beyond
his power of achievement, and consequently the sense
of proportion was apt to be lost. Finally, the position
of the British in India was none too strong, and the
appearance of a Franco-Russian army in Persia would
undoubtedly have reacted most unfavourably on the
general situation.

Malcolms First Mission^ 1800. — The mission of
Captain Malcolm was decided upon before the news of
the success of Mehdi Ali Khan had reached Calcutta.
His instructions were to induce the Shah of Persia to
bring pressure on Zaman Shah ; to counteract any
possible designs of the French ; and to restore the
prosperity of British and British Indian trade with Persia.

The young Scotch officer, who held only a junior
rank and might well have been looked down upon by
Persians of high rank, was completely successful in his
difficult task. He carefully studied the Persians, who
were impressed by his strong personality ; he won favour
by a generous and even lavish distribution of gifts ; and
on arriving at Teheran he confirmed by his remarkable
capacity the good report which had preceded him.

Under these favourable conditions a political and com-
mercial treaty was speedily negotiated between Malcolm
and Haji Ibrahim, the Vizier. The Shah agreed to make
no peace with the Amir of Afghanistan unless the latter
renounced his designs on the British possessions in India.

* From Astrabad to Herat is about six hundred and fifty miles, and from Herat to
Kabul is another five hundred.

FATH ALI SHAH.
(From a Persian picture.)

f ihc Secretary of Stale for India.)

(By kind permission o

Lxxv BRITISH AND FRENCH MISSIONS 399

The British envoy, on his part, agreed to furnish
munitions of war to the Shah in case he was attacked by
the Afghans or the French. There were stringent pro-
visions for the expulsion and " extirpation " of any French
subjects who wished to settle in Persia. On the com-
mercial side it was stipulated that English and Indian
merchants should be permitted to settle free of taxes at
the ports, and that English broad-cloth, iron, steel, and
lead should be admitted free of duty. Thus Malcolm's
first mission ended in complete success. Rawlinson, it
is true, regards it as a failure inasmuch as it revealed to
Persia our anxiety about "the road" to India. Although
I realize the force of his objections, I am inclined to think
that the Persians, who are remarkable for their political
acumen, have not, since the reign of Nadir Shah at all
events, required any tuition on the subject,#and that to
have delayed on that account the opening up of relations
with Persia, or to have ignored this important question,
would have been a mistake. At the same time, the
clauses directed against the French are certainly character-
ized by extreme bitterness which invites hostile criticism.

The Persian Embassy to India^ 1802. — Fath Ali Shah
sent a return embassy to Bombay, headed by a certain
Haji Khalil Khan. Most unfortunately, the envoy was
killed in a quarrel which arose between his servants and
the guard that attended him. The English authorities,
who were much upset at the untoward occurrence, made
the most handsome amends,^ and the Shah is said to have
observed that more ambassadors might be killed on the
same terms.

Three years later Aga Nabi Khan, brother-in-law of
the late envoy, reached India as the representative of
Persia ; but the " sultanized " Governor-General had left
India, profound indifference concerning Persia prevailed
at Calcutta, more especially after the disastrous ending to
the French campaigns in Syria and Egypt, and Aga Nabi
Khan returned home in January 1807 a disappointed man.
This policy of inertness, which took no notice of the

^ Ismail Khan, son of the envoy, was granted a pension of two thousand rupees a
month for life. He lived to enjoy this annuity for sixty-five years, and died in Paris,
where he attended every performance of the opera during a period of fifty years.

400 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

new situation created by the Russian and French advances,
was deplorable and was destined to bear bitter fruit.

The Downfall of Haji Ibrahim, — Fath Ali Shah, who
owed his throne to Haji Ibrahim, became seriously-
alarmed at his power, which, he feared, might result in
his dethronement. Probably, too, he was influenced by
his uncle's advice. Whatever the exact causes, it was
decided to put an end to the King-Maker. By a pre-
concerted plan all the members of his family were seized
at their various seats of government and put to death,
Haji Ibrahim himself being thrown into a cauldron of oil.
The only son that was spared was a sickly boy, who not-
withstanding his indifferent health lived to be the ancestor
of the Kawam-ul-Mulk family. Haji Ibrahim was a great
personality and a typical Persian of the period. One of
many stories told about him is that when Malcolm brought
the potato, then unknown in Persia, as a gift, explaining
that it would be of great value as ah article of food to the
people, the Vizier observed that he did not see how it
could be a suitable gift for him,^ and that he would much
prefer some rolls of English cloth.

The Second Rebellion of Husayn Kuli Khan. — The Shah's
brother, who was Governor of Kashan, once more made a
bid for the throne. He obtained possession of Isfahan by
means of a forged order, and then proceeded to raise an
army in the Bakhtiari country. Fath Ali Shah acted with
considerable promptitude. He rode to Isfahan (a distance
of 280 miles) in four days, and, leaving a force to besiege
it, set out in pursuit of his brother. Hearing that the
rebel was making for the Turkish frontier, he detached a
force to intercept him, and the Pretender in despair took
sanctuary at Kum.

The Execution of Nadir Mirza^ a.h. 12 16 (1802). The

folly of Nadir Mirza brought about the final downfall of
his family. After his pardon, recorded in the previous
chapter, the Shah, with extraordinary leniency, permitted
him to retain the governorship of Khorasan, but its chiefs
complained so bitterly of his tyranny that Fath Ali felt
bound to intervene. When the city was besieged. Nadir
Mirza looted the shrine to pay his troops, and with his

Lxxv BRITISH AND FRENCH MISSIONS 401

battle-axe, the family weapon, murdered a leading Sayyia
who protested against the act of sacrilege. This atrocity-
was his last. The whole city rose against him ; he was
captured and sent to Teheran, and there by a cruel death
expiated his crimes.

The Expulsion of the Afghans from Narmashir and
Sistan, — The district of Bam, which was the scene of the
downfall of Lutf Ali Khan, was governed by a chief of
the Ghilzai tribe, who also ruled Sistan and the date-
growing district of Khabis. Under Fath Ali Shah this
semi-independent ruler rebelled but was ejected without
much difficulty, and the districts of Bam, Narmashir, and
Khabis were restored to the province of Kerman. The
Afghan occupation has not been forgotten, and I have
been shown a tower which they built in Narmashir.

French Overtures to Persia^ 1 802-1 804. — The schemes
discussed by the First Consul and the Tsar were soon
translated into French action. In 1802 overtures were
made by France, apparently through her active Consular
Agents, who, according to Rawlinson, " remained in Syria
after the French evacuation of the country, and continued
for many years to pursue a restless course of political
adventure, spreading in the sequel a perfect net-work of
intrigue over the whole face of Western Asia." These
pioneer attempts were coldly received in Persia, but in
1804 the French Government made proposals for an
alliance against Russia. Fath Ali Shah had already
applied for help to England through the Resident at
Baghdad, and was also despatching a mission to India,
and consequently no definite reply was sent to the French
communication.

The First French Mission^ 1805. — In 1805 war broke
out between France and Russia, and a French envoy,
Colonel Romieu, appeared at Teheran with more precise
proposals. Knowing that the loss of Georgia had affected
Persia deeply, Napoleon offered, if the British alliance were
repudiated by the Shah and India were invaded by a
combined French and Persian army, to throw an auxiliary
force into the lost province and to subsidize the Persian
army. Fath Ali Shah was most unwilling to come to such

VOL. II 2D

402 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

an arrangement with a regicide nation, and at the first
audience he merely asked the French representative
" How are you ? " " How is Buonaparte ? " and " What
made you kill your king ? '* Meanwhile the lack of
rapid communications between Calcutta and London and
the procrastination of the British Government had caused
a long delay. The British Cabinet had debated on the
question of giving assistance to Persia for two years with-
out coming to any decision, and the Governor-General had
referred the matter to London.

The Treaty of Finkenstein^ 1807. — Disappointed in the
quarter whence he had hoped for support, and with no
British Minister at Teheran to maintain British influence,
the Shah, realizing the seriousness of the Russian menace,
responded to the overtures of the French Emperor, and
followed up his letter by the despatch of Mirza Riza as an
envoy to the French Court, which he reached at Tilsit.
In his instructions it was laid down that, although the
Shah regarded Russia as an ordinary enemy, yet she was
" equally an enemy of the kings of Persia and of France,
and her destruction accordingly became the duty of the
two kings. France would attack her from that quarter ;
Persia from this." A further instruction shows how
completely the Shah had turned his back on the procrasti-
nating British, for it was declared that " If the French have
an intention of invading Khorasan, the king will appoint
an army to go down by the road of Kabul and Kandahar."
In other words, the Shah asserted his readiness to invade
India. At the same time Mirza Riza was forbidden to
cede a port for the use of the French " for their passage
to Hindustan." A preliminary treaty, known as the treaty
of Finkenstein, which embodied the conditions just
mentioned, was signed in May 1807 ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ Teheran.

The Gardanne Mission^ 1 807-1 808. — A few months
later an important military mission, composed of General
Gardanne and seventy commissioned and non-commis-
sioned officers, appeared in Persia and set to work to
train the Persian army on European lines. The French
general was undoubtedly instructed to organize the army
of the Shah with a view to its employment as an auxiliary

Lxxv BRITISH AND FRENCH MISSIONS 403

to a French army in an invasion of India. The heading
to this chapter demonstrates the far-reaching scope of
Napoleon's scheme, and corroboration was received from
Constantinople that the Porte had been approached with
a view to the passage of a French army across the Ottoman
dominions. Meanwhile the convention of Tilsit had
been signed almost at the same time, and it is generally
believed that the partition of the East was discussed by
Napoleon and the Tsar Alexander at their historical
meeting ; the fact that the French Emperor intended to
appoint his brother Lucien to represent him at Teheran
proves that he, at any rate, seriously intended to contest
British supremacy in India.

Fath Ali was deeply chagrined by the convention of
Tilsit. The restoration of Georgia, for which he had
hoped, was not even mentioned in it, and sinfe France
had by its terms made peace with Russia friendly offices
had to take the place of a French army. Nevertheless
Napoleon, whose optimism was remarkable, undoubtedly
hoped to conclude an offensive and defensive alliance with
Persia.

The Fight for Power in Afghanistan^ 1 799-1 808. — We
must now turn to Afghanistan in order to record a fight
for power which, together with the rise of Ranjit Singh,
changed the whole situation and caused the Afghan peril
to pass away. Zaman Shah owed his position to the
support of Sirdar Payanda Khan, who had espoused his
cause and seated him on the throne of Kabul. As was
almost inevitable in Afghanistan, the Sirdar after a time
fell into disfavour, plotted against his master, and was
executed. He left behind him twenty-two sons, famous
as the '' Barakzai brothers," the eldest of whom, Fath
Khan, fled to Persia and joined Mahmud, brother of
Zaman Shah, whom he persuaded to make a bid for the
throne. Farrah was in the first place seized and, thanks
to the aid given by the Barakzais, Kandahar subsequently
fell. Mahmud then advanced on Kabul, and in 1800
defeated Zaman Shah, whom he blinded. The wretched
man escaped in the end to Ludhiana, where he was granted
a pension by the Honourable East India Company.

404 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Mahmud Shah now occupied the throne of Kabul, Herat
was held by his brother Firuz-u-Din, and Kandahar by his
heir-apparent, Kamran Mirza.

In 1803, owing to Fath Khan's protection of the Shias
of Kabul from massacre, a plot was formed in favour of the
Amir's brother, the Shuja-ul-Mulk, who seized the throne
and imprisoned, but did not blind, Fath Khan. The
latter submitted to the usurper, and for a few years Shah
Shuja (as he is generally termed) ruled with the aid of
the able Barakzai chief. He sent expeditions to Sind
and Kashmir, but met with no success.

Malcolm's Second Mission^ 1808. — The Home and
Indian Governments were both alarmed by the rapidity
with which French influence had become paramount at
Teheran and the consequent increase in the French peril.^
Sir Harford Jones, who afterwards assumed the name of
Brydges and who had served as Resident at Basra, was
appointed Envoy Extraordinary from the Crown, and in
1807 was despatched from England to Persia by way of
the Cape with a commission which, although placing him
in subordination to Lord Minto, the Governor-General,
gave him full powers to negotiate a treaty between the
King and the Shah. His expenses were chargeable to
the Government of India. Meanwhile Lord Minto, who
was at first ignorant of this appointment, realizing the
urgency of the case, appointed Malcolm, now a Brigadier-
General, to undertake much the same task. The latter,
escorted by a powerful squadron, reached the Persian Gulf
in May, 1808, at a time when the influence of General
Gardanne was entirely in the ascendant. He was drilling
the Persian army and constructing fortifications, and it
was hoped that, through French influence, Georgia would
be restored to Persia. In these circumstances the British
Envoy, whose tone was perhaps too peremptory, was not
treated with the courtesy due to his position. He was
instructed by the Ministers of Fath Ali Shah to make his

^ The further steps that were taken included the despatch, in this year, of Mount-
stuart Elphinstone to Peshawar, where he concluded a treaty with Shah Shuja, by the
terms of which Great Britain was bound to aid the Afghan ruler with money in case
of a joint invasion of his territory by Persia and France. Shah Shuja, on his side,
agreed to resist the confederates and to exclude all Frenchmen from his dominions for
ever. Metcalfe was despatched on a similar mission to Ranjit Singh.

Lxxv BRITISH AND FRENCH MISSIONS 405

representations to the Governor-General of Fars, and was
debarred from approaching Teheran.

Malcolm, justly incensed at the aifi-ont offered in his
person to the Honourable East India Company, returned
to India and urged that the island of Kharak should be
occupied by Indian troops. This proposal was, after some
consideration, accepted by Lord Minto ; but just when
the troops were about to sail it became clear from the
situation in Europe that France could not possibly spare
an army for Persia, and the expedition was therefore
countermanded.

The Mission of Sir Harford Jones^ 1 808-1 809. — British
policy has ever been proverbially fortunate, and when, in
the autumn of the same year. Sir Harford Jones appeared
on the scene after the retirement of Malcolm, and pro-
ceeded in the pompous language of the period ^^ to throw
the aegis of the British Crown over the imperilled destinies
of India," a reaction against the French had set in at
Teheran. The Persians realized that General Gardanne
had promised more than he could perform ; he had, in
fact, overplayed his part. Jones pointed out that good
offices were not sufficient to bind the hands of Russia,
and when he proposed a British alliance, together with an
annual subsidy of tomans 160,000 (>{^ 120,000) so long as
Great Britain continued to be at war with Russia, and the
services of British officers to train the Persian army, Fath
Ali Shah agreed to give General Gardanne his passports.
The British envoy, who had brought as a gift from
George III. a fine diamond which excited the Shah's
covetousness, was accorded a magnificent reception. Under
these favourable conditions there were no delays, and
in March, 1809, a preliminary treaty was negotiated, the
terms of which were approved by both the Home and
the Indian Governments, and formed the basis of the
definitive treaty that was finally concluded.

As might be supposed, the action of Sir Harford
Jones, who was subordinate to the Governor-General,
caused no little friction. Indeed so strained did his
relations with India become that Lord Minto ordered
the suspension of his functions, and his bills were pro-

4o6 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

tested. It is stated that he had made remarks which
tended to lower the dignity of the Governor-General.
But inasmuch as he represented the Crown and had to
explain to the Persians, when his bills were protested, the
relation of the East India Company to the British Govern-
ment, it would have been difficult for him to avoid giving
offence, if offence was looked for.-^ After the lapse of
years the good work done by both Malcolm and Jones
remains, and the friction which was almost inevitable may
be forgotten. The preliminary treaty was taken to Eng-
land by James Morier, the author of the immortal " Hajji
Baba," who was the secretary to the mission. Lord
Minto accepted the arrangements which had been con-
tracted with the Shah while condemning the behaviour
of the negotiator, but insisted that the execution of the
treaty should be entrusted to an officer nominated by
himself.

Malcolm s Third Mission^ 1 8 1 o. — Malcolm was accord-
ingly sent on a third mission which was brilliant in the
extreme. It was magnificently equipped, and the envoy
was accompanied by a large staff of officers, among whom
were Monteith and Lindsay. The latter, a giant stand-
ing 6 feet 8 inches, was an artillery officer, and such was
his influence with the Persians, who compared him to
Rustam, that he subsequently became Commander-in-
Chief of the Persian army, a post which, under the name
of Lindsay Bethune, he filled for many years with much
credit. Malcolm was received with extraordinary marks
of esteem and friendship, and his fine character, his justice,
and his knowledge of the world impressed the Persians
so much that all Englishmen in Persia still benefit from
the high qualities displayed by their great representative.
It was in his honour that the Persian decoration, "the
Lion and the Sun,'* was inaugurated. At the same time,
it must not be forgotten that Sir Harford Jones retained
the control of diplomatic relations with Persia throughout.

Actingon Malcolm's instructions, Pottinger and Christie
made a daring journey of exploration through Baluchistan ;
and Pottinger's Travels in Baluchistan^ recording the results

^ In his Mission, etc., p. 209, Jones explains the whole circumstances of the case.

Lxxv BRITISH AND FRENCH MISSIONS 407

of this adventure, remains a classic on the subject. This
was not the only literary fruit of the British mission ;
for Kinneir produced his able Geographical Memoir^ and
Malcolm himself wrote a History of Persia^ as well as his
light and entertaining Sketches of Persia.

The Embassy of Haji Mirza Ahul Hasan Khan^ 1809-
18 10. — In return for these embassies, Fath Ali Shah
despatched Haji Mirza Abul Hasan Khan to the Court
of St. Jameses. His special object was to ascertain clearly
how the subsidy Persia' was entitled to receive under the
treaty was to be paid. This versatile son of Iran has
been immortalized by James Morier (who accompanied
him on both his outward and his homeward journey) in
" Hajji Baba in England/' ^

The Appointment of Sir Gore Ouseley^ 181 1. — The treaty
negotiated by Sir Harford Jones was duly, ratified in
England, and its negotiator was confirmed in his appoint-
ment at Teheran, the Home Government deciding to retain
permanent control of diplomatic relations with Persia.
Upon his resignation in 181 1, he was succeeded by Sir
Gore Ouseley, in whose suite were Major D'Arcy, better
known as D'Arcy Todd, and a detachment of English
sergeants of the 47th regiment. Sir William Ouseley,
whose writings on Persia remain a classic, also accom-
panied the mission.

The Definitive Treaty^ 1 8 14. — Shortly after the conclusion
of the treaty of Gulistan, which will be dealt with in the
following chapter. Sir Gore Ouseley negotiated with Persia
the definitive treaty based on Sir Harford Jones's pre-
liminary agreement. This he took with him to England.
A year later Mr. Ellis reached Teheran and, with Mr.
Morier, concluded the final definitive treaty, which was
signed on November 25, 1814.^ By the terms of this
important document, which was specially declared to be

1 Charles Lamb wrote of the Persian ambassador that he " is the principal thing
talked of now. I sent some people to see him worship the sun at half-past six in the
morning, but he did not come. . . . The common people call him Shaw Nonsense."
His portrait, painted by Sir William Beechey, hangs in the India Office. The ambassador,
on his return home, wrote a book termed Hairat-nama, or " Record of Wonders."

2 Aitchison's Treaties^ number vii. The preamble runs : " These happy leaves are a
nosegay plucked from the thornless garden of concord and tied by the hands of the
plenipotentiaries," etc.

4o8 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

defensive, all alliances between Persia and European
nations hostile to Great Britain were made null and void,
and all European armies were to be prevented from enter-
ing Persia, if hostile to Great Britain. The Shah was
furthermore bound to induce the rulers of Khwarazm,
Tataristan, Bokhara, and Samarcand to oppose any army
which might attempt to cross their territories with a view
to the invasion of India. Mutual assistance was to be
rendered in case of aggression, and the limits between
Persia and Russia were to be determined by Great Britain,
Persia, and Russia. With extraordinary generosity the
subsidy was finally fixed at 200,000 tomans (equivalent
to 15 lacSy or ;^ 150,000) and was not to be stopped unless
Persia engaged in an aggressive war. It was to be spent
under the superintendence of the British Minister. By
another article endeavours were to be made to include
Persia in any treaty of peace between Great Britain and
a European Power at war with Persia, failing which
military and financial support was to be given. As
regards Afghanistan the British Government was not to
interfere in case of war breaking out between Persia and
the Amir, whereas Persia, on her part, agreed to attack
Afghanistan if it went to war with Great Britain.

It is easy to criticise various details of this treaty, as,
for instance, the clause by which Great Britain was bound
to interfere in boundary disputes between Persia and
Russia ; or, again, the supposition that the Shah could
influence the ruler of Tataristan to oppose an invading
army betrayed much ignorance of political geography.
The document, to be judged fairly, must be taken as a
whole. We must bear in mind the keen struggle which
the French had made to win over the Court of Persia,
and the existence of a French peril, even though it loomed
larger in the minds of men than reality justified. We
must also not forget that there had been an Afghan peril.
Taking everything into consideration, we cannot but admit
that the treaty dealt with these important questions in a
statesmanlike and satisfactory manner. The only criticism
which I would venture to make is that it does not appear
to have been recognized that a new power had risen on

Lxxv BRITISH AND FRENCH MISSIONS 409

the horizon, and that henceforth Russia alone would be
likely, or indeed able, to threaten India. It was known
that in 1791 there had been a scheme for an invasion of
Hindustan by way of Orenburg, Bokhara, and Kabul.
Other schemes for Russian conquests in Central Asia had
also been published. But it was not realized at first that
Russian aggression on Georgia and Karabagh had in-
augurated a new and permanent state of affairs. The
reports of British officers who at the head of Persian
regiments fought Russian troops, the appointment of a
permanent mission at Teheran, and the travels and
writings of the gifted Englishmen of the period all con-
tributed to furnish that accurate information which is
essential as a basis of sound policy.

Fath Ali Shah.

CHAPTER LXXVI

THE DISASTROUS CAMPAIGNS WITH RUSSIA

His Majesty the Shah of Persia, as well in his own name as in that of his
heirs and successors, cedes in full right and property to the Empire of Russia,
the Khanate of Erivan on either side of the Araxes, and the Khanate of
Nakhchivan. — The Treaty of Turkomanchai, Article 3.

The Annexation of Georgia by Russia^ 1800. — In
previous chapters we have traced the earlier phases of
those relations between Russia and Persia which were
now to prove disastrous for the latter. The death of
Catjierine and the accession of the Emperor Paul had
caused the struggle for Georgia to cease for a while, but
in due course it was renewed.

Gurgin, or George, who had succeeded his father
Heraclius, had submitted to Fath Ali Shah, thereby turn- .
ing his back on Russia. But that power was not to be
trifled with, and in 1800 George XIII. was compelled to
renounce his crown in favour of the Tsar. This surrender
was naturally unpopular among the nobles, and Alexander, *
the younger brother of George, attempted to enlist the
support of Turkey or Persia. In this he failed, although '
it was obviously to the interest of Persia to defend .
her rights, instead of tamely allowing Georgia to be\
annexed by her rival. A rising supported by the
Khan of Karabagh and the Avars was defeated by;
General LazaroiF, who afterwards captured Ganja, which .
he treated with severity. Georgia was then formally
annexed to the Russian Empire, which was thereby
brought into direct contact with Persia.

410

CH. Lxxvi DISASTROUS CAMPAIGNS 411

The Two Campaigns against Russia, — The campaigns
which Persia now fought against Russia fall into two
distinct periods. The first, in which the Persian army
won some successes, ended with a defeat in 18 12, and
peace was made in 18 13, by an agreement known as the
treaty of Gulistan. There was then a lull for thirteen
years until, in 1826, the claim made by Russia to the
district of Gokcha brought on a new war. The Persians
found their enemy unprepared and gained some initial
successes, but ultimately the Russians penetrated into
Azerbaijan and captured Tabriz. This campaign, which
was utterly disastrous to Persia, ended with the treaty of
Turkomanchai, in 1828.

The Persian Army under Abbas Mirza, — The command
of the Persian army was vested in Abbas Mirza^ the heir-
apparent and Governor-General of Azerbaijan^ who started
the drilling and organizing of Persian troops on European
lines. At first Russian instructors were engaged, and in
order to overcome the prejudices of his countrymen the
Prince donned a European uniform and went through
the daily drills himself. A few years later the French
Military Mission already mentioned appeared on the
scene, and large bodies of troops were drilled into some-
thing like an army on the European model, so far as
parade movements were concerned. Upon the decline of
French influence, English instructors were substituted.
This attempt to drill the Persians on European lines,
praiseworthy as it was, contributed to the ruin of their
country. Her military strength has always lain in
mounted tribesmen, who by their mobility could create a
desert round a regular force, attack numerically inferior
bodies of mounted troops, and remain out of reach of
slowly moving infantry. It was such a force as this that
Nadir Shah led to Delhi after defeating the Turks by
brilliant charges, and nothing but this could hope to
baffle a European army. Rawlinson, who at a later
period was an instructor of Persian troops, wrote : "System
was entirely wanting, whether in regard to pay, clothing,
food, carriage, equipage, commissariat, promotion, or
command. . . . Truly then may it be said that in

412 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

presenting Persia with the boon of a so-called regular
army, in order to reclaim her from her unlawful loves
with France, we clothed her in the robe of Nessus." ^

The Erivan Campaign^ 1804. — The annexation of
Georgia by Russia deeply affected the prestige of Persia,
that country having long been her tributary, but actual
hostilities between Russia and Persia did not break out
until General Sisianoff, apparently without a formal declara-
tion of war, marched on Erivan, which he had reason
to believe would be handed over to him by its treacherous
governor. The first battle, fought in the neighbourhood
of Echmiadzin, the residence of the Armenian patriarch,
was indecisive. Not long afterwards the Persian camp
was surprised and the army of the heir-apparent fled.
After this victory Erivan was besieged, and its governor,
who had refused to hand over the fortress, opened fresh
negotiations. Fath Ali Shah himself now appeared in
the theatre of operations with strong reinforcements.
Engagements followed with indecisive results, but by
preventing munitions and supplies from reaching the
Russian camp, the Shah forced General Sisianoff to retire
from the siege of Erivan, harassed by the light Persian
cavalry.

The Russian Descent on Gilan. — The next important
operation was a Russian descent on Resht. As travellers
to Teheran know, its seaport is Enzeli, behind which lies
a shallow lagoon some twelve miles across, navigable only
by small boats. After this body of water has been
traversed a narrow river is entered, up which boats are
towed to Pir-i-Bazar, distant some three or four miles
from the capital of Gilan.

The Russian general, unable to transport his guns by
boats, of which only a small number were forthcoming,
attempted to march round the lagoon. But the marshy
nature of the soil and the attacks of the inhabitants were
obstacles too formidable to be faced, and the order was
given to retire on Enzeli. The expedition then sailed to
Baku and bombarded it. The Governor was invited to

^ In the recent struggles the Persian regular army has played no part whatever. It
is now being disbanded.

Lxxvi DISASTROUS CAMPAIGNS 413

surrender, but at a conference held under its walls
General Sisianoff was treacherously assassinated. Mean-
while Ganja had surrendered to Abbas Mirza^ but was
retaken by the Russians. The campaign dragged on
with indecisive results, although the Russians occupied
the greater part of the disputed territories, but they were
repulsed a second time with loss from before Erivan.
The Persians were anxious to engage the services of
General Malcolm, but this was not permitted. He gave
them, however, the wise advice to keep their artillery and
newly raised infantry for the defence of fortresses, and to
raise swarms of light horsemen to harass and distress the
enemy.

The Battle of Aslanduz^ 1812. — In 1812 a decisive
battle was fought. Sir Gore Ouseley, who was attempting
to act as mediator, having heard that Great Britain had
concluded peace with Russia, ordered the British officers
to leave the Persian service, but so far yielded to Persian
entreaties as to allow Christie and Lindsay to remain.
The Persian army was at Aslanduz on the Araxes, and
there it was surprised in broad daylight by a Russian
column consisting of only 2300 men with six guns.
Christie formed up the infantry and was holding his own,
when Abbas Mirza^ thinking all was lost, directed him to
retreat ; upon his demurring, the Persian heir-apparent
himself galloped up, seized the colours of a regiment and
ordered the men to retire. The artillery was also
compelled to follow, and but for the action of Lindsay,
who dashed into the camp and seized some rounds of
ammunition, would have been useless. Abbas Mirza
made the disaster complete by giving wildly contradictory
commands, and as a result his army was annihilated.
Gallant Christie, wounded in the neck, was killed by the
enemy. Lenkoran, the next Russian objective, was taken
at the end of the year. After these two disasters the
Persians were disheartened and thought of making peace.

The Treaty of Gulistan^ 18 13. — At the request of the
Russian Governor-General of Georgia, Sir Gore Ouseley
used his good offices, and on the 12th of October, 18 13,
a treaty was signed. Its terms were disastrous to Persia.

414 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

She ceded Georgia, Derbent, Baku, Shirwan, Shaki,
Genja, Karabagh and part of Talish. She also agreed
indirectly to maintain no navy on the Caspian Sea.^
Russia, in return, apparently bound herself to support
Abbas Mirza in securing the succession. Thus for his
personal advantage the heir-apparent conceded to Russia
the whole of the territories in dispute. That power,
owing to the invasion of Napoleon, was in no condition
to continue the campaign, and probably would have
accepted less — for the time being. Persia, on her side,
hoped by means of British officers to strengthen her
position and then to try the fortune of war again. In
other words, the peace was a temporary and not a final
settlement.

Risings in Persia, — Path AH Shah, partly at any rate
owing to the defeats he had suflrered at the hands of
Russia, was faced with risings in various parts of the
empire as well as with raids from outside. The chiefs of
Khorasan, who had always resented the supremacy of the
Kajars, rose against his son Mohamed Vali Mirza, They
obtained possession of Meshed, but then began to quarrel
and dispersed. As a sequel to this rebellion Ishak Khan,
the powerful Karai chief, was strangled by the Governor-
General. In the meanwhile the Amir of Bokhara invaded
Khorasan at the invitation of the rebels, but, finding that
the authority of the Shah had been re-established, made
excuses and retired. The Khan of Khiva also appeared
on the scene, but his envoy was humiliated by being
forced to play on a musical instrument before the Persian
generals. After this deadly insult his army was defeated.
The Turkoman also revolted twice. On the second
occasion their leader was a Kajar noble, but they were
driven oflF and he was captured.

The Embassy of General Yermeloff^ 1817. — After the
conclusion of the peace it was vainly hoped that through
English intercession part of the lost territories would
be restored. The Tsar sent General YermelofF with a
splendid embassy to Teheran, but instead of yielding

1 when this stipulation was discussccl at Teheran, Ha'fi Mirza Aghasi, afterwards
the Vizier of Mohamed Shah, summed up the situation by exclaiming, " What do we
want with salt water ! " The agreement is given in Appendix v. o( Aitchison's Treaties.

Lxxvi DISASTROUS CAMPAIGNS 415

up a square foot of the territories ceded to Russia, he
proposed an alliance against Turkey. Further demands
were for the passage through Astrabad and Khorasan of
a Russian army destined to invade Khiva, and for the
establishment of a Russian agent at Resht. All these
proposals, together with an offer to supply Russian oiEcers
to train the Persian army, were politely refused, and the
Russian envoy, after being magnificently entertained, left
Teheran loaded with gifts.

Afghan Campaigns^ 1805 ^^^ 18 17-18 18. — We must
now return for a short while to Afghanistan. In a.h.
1222 (1805) the erstwhile refugee Firuz Mirza^ who
was Governor of Herat, attempted to capture Ghorian, a
fortress on the frontier which had remained in Persian
hands. He was defeated and, being followed up to the
gates of Herat, agreed to pay to Persia arrears of tribute
for two years and to give his son as a hostage for his good
faith. Twelve years later, in 1 8 1 7, Hasan Ali Mirza^ a
son of Fath Ali Shah, marched to Herat to punish a
further attack on Ghorian. Again Firuz Mirza bought
off the invaders by a payment of fifty thousand tomans
and by ordering the public prayers to be read and the
coinage to be stamped in the name of Fath Ali Shah.
After the departure of the Persian army he was alarmed
at the possible consequences of his acts and asked for
military assistance from Kabul. Mahmud Shah, who had
been released from prison, and had driven Shah Shuja into
exile at Ludhiana, was the nominal Amir of Afghanistan,
but Fatteh Khan Barakzai, his Vizier, was all-powerful,
and at his instance Firuz Mirza was treacherously seized
and deported to Kabul. The chiefs of Khorasan were
then incited to rise against the Shah, and the Khan of
Khiva was persuaded to invade the province in the
interests of Afghanistan.

Hasan Ali Mirza met this critical situation with
firmness. In 1818 he attacked Fatteh Khan, who was
defeated and wounded. Shortly afterwards Fath Ali Shah
reached the theatre of war with a large force and Mahmud
Shah purchased immunity from invasion by agreeing to
blind his Vizier, who was afterwards barbarously executed.

41 6 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

This act led to the downfall of the Durranis ; for Dost
Mohamed, brother and avenger of the murdered man,
took up arms and after eight years of anarchy obtained
possession of the throne of Afghanistan, which his de-
scendants still occupy. Herat, however, remained faithful
to Mahmud and after his death to his son Kamran Mirza}

HosuMes wuh Turkey, A.H,i226-i22S (i^2i-i^'2'3)-—
The last campaign fought between Persia and Turkey
originated from the action of the Governor of Erzeroum,
who took under his protection two nomadic tribes that had
fled from Azerbaijan. Abbas Mirza made representations,
but his agent was imprisoned and he was then instructed to
invade the Turkish dominions. The Turks being weak,
all the districts adjacent to Azerbaijan, including Kurdistan,
were occupied. Farther south, the Pasha of Baghdad at-
tempted to invade Persia, but was defeated by Mohamed
Ali Mirza^ the Shah's eldest son.^ The routed army was
pursued to the gates of the city, which lay at the mercy
of the Prince. But illness caused him to retreat, and upon
reaching the hills he died.

Meanwhile hostilities continued in the north. A
Turkish detachment a thousand strong was captured by
a force operating from Erivan, but was released without
ransom by Abbas Mirza^ who throughout showed no
desire to push matters too far. The campaign ended
with a battle in which the Persians, although inferior in
numbers, gained a hard-fought victory. In the southern
zone all military operations were stopped because the
Persian army suffered from cholera, which is stated to
have made its first appearance in Persia on this occasion.
Peace was concluded in the end by the treaty of Erzeroum,
signed in a.h. 1238 (1823). Its terms involved no terri-
torial changes.

The Dispute about Gokcha and its Seizure by Russia,
1825. — The treaty of Gulistan had been so vaguely worded
that three districts lying between Erivan and the Gokcha

1 Kamran Mirza had a feud with Fatteh Khan and induced his father, whose fears he
excited, to give the order for his execution, which order he brought in person to Herat
and executed.

2 It is stated that Mohamed Ali Mirxa^ when a boy, was asked by Aga Mohamed
what he would do if he became Shah. " I would kill you," was the reply. This frank
expression resulted in the appointment of Abbas Mirza, the second son, as heir-apparent.

Ffotn ii /^''u\'ct:> >ifh »'t' At\i..-'..fi /\. ■.'<{:

CHRlSllAX rRlBKSMKX IN KURDISIWX

Lxxvi DISASTROUS CAMPAIGNS 417

Lake, the most important of which was Gokcha, remained
in dispute. Negotiations were carried on between General
Yermeloff, the Governor-General of the Caucasus, and
Abbas Mirza^ but, no agreement being reached, Gokcha
was occupied by Russian troops. In consequence of this
high-handed act, the intense feeling of hostility to Russia
which had been excited by her conquests and by her con-
temptuous treatment of her new Moslem subjects broke
out into a national demonstration in favour of war. Abbas
Mirza was only too anxious to retrieve his lost reputation,
and from every province of Persia recruits in thousands
flocked to his standard. A Russian envoy, Prince
Menchikoff^, was despatched to the court of Teheran upon
the accession of Tsar Nicholas, and it was hoped by the
peace-loving Shah that a satisfactory arrangement would
be effected ; but the Russian Prince had no instructions
to surrender Gokcha, and his mission did nothing to
satisfy Persian public opinion, which was deeply stirred.

Initial Persian Successes, — The first act of hostility was
an attack on a Russian force by the hereditary chief of
Talish, whose wife was in their hands. This was followed
by an assault on Lenkoran, which was abandoned by its
garrison.

In the main theatre of war the Russians were unpre-
pared, and at first the Persians carried all before them.
An entire Russian regiment was captured marching towards
Shisha, and one half of the prisoners entered the service
of the Shah. The Moslems of Ganja massacred the
Russian garrison, and the Persians raided up to the gates
of Tiflis. So successful were they that in less than a
month Shirwan, Shaki, Talish, and Ganja had all been
reoccupied by the troops of the Shah. Shisha, however,
defied all the eflForts of Abbas Mirza.

The Battle of Shamkar, — Russia meanwhile had been
concentrating an army at Tiflis, and the first battle was
fought at Shamkar, in the vicinity of Ganja, by a Russian
division of nine thousand men against a Persian force of
equal strength. The Persian cavalry, demoralized by the
Russian artillery fire, fled and was pursued by Cossacks
along the rear of the Persian infantry. Seeing this, the

VOL. II 2 E

41 8 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Russian main body advanced, and the Persians were
routed, leaving their artillery in the hands of the enemy.
In this battle Mohamed Mirza (afterwards Mohamed
Shah), who was in command, was actually made prisoner
by the Cossacks, but was rescued through the courage of
a Shah Savan chief.

The Battle of Ganja^ 26th September^ 1826. — Abbas
Mirza immediately hastened north with thirty thousand
men to repair the disaster, and was met by General
Paskievich, with an army only half as strong, on a level
plain to the east of Ganja. The Persian artillery, directed
by its English officer, caused a Russian division to retreat
and two Karadagh regiments charged. Had the entire
line advanced at this juncture the day might have been
won ; for the Russian artillery was badly served. Un-
fortunately for Persia, Abbas Mirza again behaved as he
had done at Aslanduz, and his sons received orders to
retire. These instructions discouraged the whole army,
which broke up before a shot had been fired by many of
the regiments. Abbas Mirza, who was not a coward, did
his best to rally his men, but the Asaf-u-Dola, the Vizier,
quitted the field at the first alarm and reached the Aras, a
hundred and fifty miles distant, by the following night.

The Avarice of Fath Ali Shah. — Avarice was the ruling
passion of Fath Ali Shah, and, like the last of the Caliphs,
he preferred to hoard jewels and gold rather than to expend
money on national defence. For this reason the steps
taken to collect a new army were inadequate. Moreover
his sons refused to serve under the now discredited Abbas
Mirza, The arsenal at Tabriz was found to be practically
empty, the money devoted to it having been embezzled,
and even such cannon balls as there were did not fit the
guns. An attempt was made to buy lead locally, but
very little was obtained. Meanwhile winter came on and,
owing to the Shah's refusal to furnish pay, the army was
disbanded. General YermelofF made prompt use of re-
inforcements which reached him, and after the Astrakhan
division had driven the Shah*s troops out of Derbent
another division crossed the Aras and threatened Tabriz,
which lay at the mercy of a determined enemy. It was.

Lxxvi DISASTROUS CAMPAIGNS 419

however, spared, and the Russian General retired without
effecting anything of importance.

The Capture of Erivan^ 1827. — In 1827 General
Paskievich, who had succeeded to the chief command,
again besieged Erivan, but for the third time this fortress
defied the Russians. Shortly afterwards Abbasabad, a
strong position on the Aras near Nakhchivan, was taken
by treachery. This blow disheartened the Persians and
fruitless efforts were made to conclude peace.

A victory, however, was at last gained by Abbas Mirza
in the neighbourhood of Echmiadzin over a Russian force
under General Karkovski, consisting of five thousand
infantry, one thousand cavalry, and twelve guns. The
Persians were equal in infantry, but stronger in cavalry
and artillery. The latter arm was ably served, and the
Persian troops, anxious to regain their lost reputation,
charged boldly. The Russian General was killed, and but
for time lost by the Persians in cutting off the heads of their
enemies the Russian force would have been annihilated.
As it was, a large number reached the friendly shelter of
Echmiadzin. Notwithstanding this victory. Path Ali Shah
refused to continue the supply of money necessary to keep
the army in the field, and the Sirdar, deserted by his
monarch, at last surrendered Erivan to General Paskievich,
who was granted in consequence the title Count of
Erivan.

The Surrender of Tabriz^ 1827. — The Shah's avarice
led to a stiU greater disaster. Learning the defenceless
state of Tabriz, Paskievich despatched a small force of five
thousand men, to which the city was surrendered by the
leading inhabitants without a struggle. By this success
the Russians gained possession of the arsenal, of almost
the entire artillery park, and of the families of the leaders.
There was consequently no use in prolonging the hopeless
struggle and it was left to the Russians to dictate the terms
on which peace would be made.

The Treaty of Turkomanchai^ 1828. — The victors were
embarrassed by hostilities with Turkey, and their demands,
although not light, cannot be called exorbitant. The chief
articles included the cession to Russia of the fertile

420 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

provinces of Erivan and Nakhchivan and the payment of
an indemnity fixed at ten crores^ of tomans, equivalent
to thirty million silver roubles, or rather more than
;/;3,ooo,ooo.

The new frontier was laid down in detail in Article 4
of the treaty.^ It followed the River Aras eastward as far
as the 48 th parallel of longitude. At this point it trended
to the south, giving part of Talish, including Lankoran,
to Russia, and then eastward again to the Caspian Sea,
which it reached at Astara. By the seventh Article Abbas
Mirza was formally recognized as heir to the throne of
Persia, and by the tenth Russia acquired the right to
nominate Consuls or commercial agents "wherever the good
of commerce may require/' A separate compact dealt with
the question of '' Commerce and the Security of Subjects."
By its terms 5 per cent was agreed to for the customs'
charges on exports and imports ; Russian officials were
allowed to import goods intended for their personal use
free of charge and were also allowed to protect their
Persian employes. Finally, they retained power over their
own subjects.

This treaty marked the beginning of a new era, since
Persia from that time ceased to be the entirely independent
power that had been courted by France and England.
France had left the arena, and England was not slow to
see the changed position. The treaty is scarcely less im-
portant from another point of view ; for it is the basis on
which all western nations have since conducted their inter-
course with Persia, and the extra-territorial privileges it
introduced for Russians have been extended to other
Europeans and are in force to this day. The negotiations,
which began in the month of November 1827, were not
concluded until the following February, the aged Shah
having refused to unlock the doors of his treasure-house.
He was afraid, moreover, that the money might be used
by General Paskievich to finance a new campaign against
Persia. Fortunately the British Minister, Sir John
Macdonald, was able to reassure the Shah on this point,

^ A Persian crore is half a million.
2 Fide Aitchhon's Treaties, Appendix XVI.

Lxxvi DISASTROUS CAMPAIGNS 421

and at last the treaty was signed. The royal consent was
given only just in time, for Paskievich was preparing to
march on Teheran and had been promised by the disloyal
chiefs of Azerbaijan the support of fifteen thousand
cavalry.

The Modification of the Definitive Treaty with Great
Britain. — The Persian Government held that the occupa-
tion of the district of Gokcha by Russia was the cause of
the war and that Great Britain was consequently bound by
theDefinitiveTreatyof 1 8 14 to cometoher aid. The British
view, and the just view, was that Persia had waged an
aggressive war. It was, however, realized that, had Russia
been the aggressor and had her troops invaded Persian
territory. Great Britain would have been placed in the
awkward position of supporting the Shah in a war waged
against a power with which she herself was on friendly
terms. Sir John Macdonald, who had come to the rescue
of Abbas Mirza by advancing him money in his dire need,
succeeded in negotiating an agreement by which, in return
for a payment of 200,000 tomans. Articles 3 and 4
of the treaty were cancelled.^ This sum of money was
urgently needed by Abbas Mirza^ and upon its receipt
General Paskievich evacuated Tabriz. The cancelling of
the two articles by Sir John Macdonald proves that that
able diplomatist had realized the change in the position of
Persia referred to above ; a change which had already been
indicated by the transfer of the direction of affairs at
Teheran from London to Calcutta. By this deletion of
treaty provisions that would have been inapplicable to the
new situation he rendered a signal service to Great Britain,
while the cash payment was invaluable to her stricken
ally.

The Murder of Grehaiodov^ 1828. — The year in which
the treaty of Turkomanchai was signed was singularly un-

^ Aitchison's Treaties^ p. 57. Article 3 of the Definitive Treaty, after declaring its pur-
pose to be "strictly defensive" and its object that of "repelling the aggression of
enemies," went on to state that "the limits of the territories of the two States of
Russia and Persia shall be determined according to the admission of Great Britain,
Persia and Russia." Article 4 provided that, in case any European nation invaded
Persia, Great Britain should, if the Persian Government required assistance, send from
India " the force required," or, in lieu thereof, should pay an annual subsidy of two hundred
thousand tomans towards the cost of a Persian army. But this subsidy was not to be
paid if the war was "produced by an aggression on the part of Persia."

422 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, lxxvi

fortunate for Persia. By the terms of that instrument the
third instalment of the indemnity had to be handed over
to the Russian representative on the 27th of August,
failing which, that power had the right to annex Azerbaijan.
With characteristic Persian levity, no arrangements were
made for the payment of this money, and but for the
friendly vigilance of the British Envoy it would not have
been forthcoming.

In the autumn a special mission under M. Grebaiodov
reached Teheran from the Tsar. It was received with
much distinction and honour, but the Envoy^s claim that
two Armenian women should be given up by the Asaf-u-
Dola created much ill-feeling. The women were sur-
rendered, but the decision of the chief Mujtahid that it
was lawful to rescue them from the hands of the infidels
caused a riot. The bazaars were shut, a mob stormed the
Legation, and the Envoy and his staff were murdered.
The Shah, in utter dismay, despatched his grandson
Khusru Mirza to oflFer the apologies of the Persian
Government and to express horror at the outrage. Russia
was engaged at the time in hostilities with Turkey and
was unwilling to drive Persia by any act of harshness to
side with that power. Consequently, not only were the
demands of Russia limited to the exile of the chief
Mujtahid and the punishment of the guilty individuals,
but in addition Tsar Nicholas generously remitted a crore
of tomans of the war indemnity.

MoHAMED Shah.

CHAPTER LXXVII

PERSIAN AGGRESSION ON AFGHANISTAN

We consent to the whole of the demands of the British Government. We
will not go to war. Were it not for the sake of friendship we should not
relinquish the siege of Herat. — The Statement of Mohamed Shah.

The Trend of Persian Policy^ 1 832-1 857. — The last chap-
ter was a recital of defeats and losses suffered by Persia at
the hand of Russia. The present chapter and the follow-
ing one are mainly an account of the persistent though
unsuccessful efforts made by the defeated power to recover
provinces on the eastern confines of the empire in order
to balance heavy losses in the west. These campaigns
against Afghanistan were viewed with apprehension by
rulers of India, since it was realized that, if the policy of
Persia were successful, Russian agents and Russian influ-
ence would be established to the south of the Hindu Kush.
The Government of India, therefore, made strenuous
efforts to keep Afghanistan outside the spheres of in-
fluence of both Russia and Persia, not shrinking from
an Afghan campaign, from costly missions, or even from
war with her old ally Persia. During the period dealt
with, from 1832 to 1857, the main Persian objective was
Herat, which was besieged more than once and for a short
period actually occupied.

The Campaign of Abbas Mirza in Khorasan. — The
disasters suffered in the campaign with Russia reacted
on the internal situation of Persia, more especially in
Khorasan, where the Kajar dynasty was peculiarly detested.
Abbas Mirza was entrusted with the task of restoring

423

424 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

order and defending Persian rights, and the energy and
skill with which he conducted his last campaign must be
set against his previous failures. He marched first to
Yezd, which had rebelled, and then to Kerman, and in
both provinces succeeded in reviving public confidence.
In Khorasan, Khusru Mirza opened the campaign by the
siege of Turshiz. The fall of this fortress caused many
of the leading chiefs to submit, but the Ilkhani of Kuchan
refused to come to terms. Amirabad, a Kurdish strong-
hold near Chinaran, was taken, and Abbas Mirza had the
utmost difficulty in stopping the massacre of its inhabi-
tants. Kuchan was next besieged, and the rebel Ilkhani
in the end submitted and was deposed in favour of his
son.

Sarakhs was the next Persian objective. The Khan
of Khiva had advanced to its neighbourhood, but retreated
upon hearing of the success of the Persian arms and so
deserted the Salor Turkoman of Sarakhs. This historical
city, which owed its importance to its position at a ford
of the Tejen on the great road between Nishapur and
Merv, had become a notorious centre of the slave trade,
and it was known that there were three thousand Shia
captives within its walls. Abbas Mirza^ after futile
negotiations, allowed an hour for the unconditional
surrender of the fortress, and when the time had elapsed
assaulted and captured it. The Turkoman were massacred,
the slaves were released, and enormous booty was
collected.

This blow dealt to the Turkoman resounded through-
out Central Asia. The Khan of Khiva was permitted to
ransom five thousand Salor prisoners at ten tomans a head,
but Abbas Mirza stipulated that the Salors should escort,
and be responsible for, the safety of Persian caravans ;
that they should agree to have no dealings with slave-
dealers ; and, finally, that they should pay tribute and
furnish a contingent of horsemen when required.

Anglo - Russian Antagonism in Central Asia. — The
campaign against Herat in which Persia now engaged
was the ultimate cause of the first Afghan war, and it
may therefore be well, before describing the operations,

Lxxvii AGGRESSION ON AFGHANISTAN 425

to give some account of the general position in Central
Asia. There is no doubt that both Russia and Great
Britain at this period were animated — in Asia, at any rate
— by feelings of mutual hostility ; the interests of the
two empires were conceived to be antagonistic, although
Russia had not annexed Khiva and the frontier of
British India was the Sutlej.

Russian victories over Persia had incited the defeated
power to recover her prestige elsewhere, and this very
natural desire was encouraged by her former enemy. It
was realized on the banks of the Neva that if Persia
obtained possession of Herat she would probably take
Kabul and Kandahar also. In this case Russian influence
would penetrate Afghanistan without any effort on her
part, whereas a heavy strain would be thrown on Great
Britain to meet the demands of the new situation. If,
on the other hand. Great Britain intervened to save
Herat, she would be thwarting the natural and just
ambitions of Persia and would thereby drive her to lean
entirely on Russia. It must not be supposed that Abbas
Mirza intended to affront Great Britain by an invasion
of Afghanistan. To him it seemed only right that ancient
provinces of Persia should be won back, and it is im-
possible not to sympathize with his aspirations.

The Siege of Herat and the Death of Abbas Mirza^ i S33.
— Herat was at this period held as an independent princi-
pality by Kamran Mirza^ son of Mahmud Shah. His
Vizier, the astute Yar Mohamed Khan, proceeded on a
mission to the Persian heir-apparent, and was informed
by him that unless his master acknowledged the authority
or the Shah and paid tribute Herat would be besieged.
Kamran Mirza sent back an evasive reply and it was
thereupon decided to undertake an Afghan campaign.

Abbas Mirza was summoned to Court, and the
military command was given to Mohamed Mirza^ who
advanced on Ghorian. Unable to capture that strong-
hold, he left it in his rear and invested Herat. Aided
by a Polish officer named Berovski, the young Prince
was pressing forward the siege when news was received
of the death of Abbas Mirza, whose premature decease

426 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

was a heavy blow to Persia. A treaty was hastily con-
eluded, by the terms of which Kamran Mirza agreed to
pay tribute to the Shah and to raze the fortifications of
Ghorian ; and Mohamed Mirza hastened to Teheran,
where he was proclaimed heir -apparent. But before
quitting Afghan soil he swore a solemn oath that he
would return and avenge his failure in Afghan blood.

The Death of Fath All Shah, 1834. — In the following
year Fath Ali Shah died at the age of sixty-eight, after
a reign of thirty-seven years. Apart from his avarice,
which, as we have seen, brought disaster upon Persia in
her struggle with Russia, he was looked upon as a capable
ruler, and in some ways he recalls Solomon in his later
years. He certainly was no soldier, and by Persians he
is remembered chiefly for his enormous family and his
long beard. Many are the stories I have heard from
Persian friends about this monarch, and one or two of
them may be reproduced.

Of his personal beauty he was inordinately proud, and
it is said that, having a mole under his chin where it could
not be seen, he insisted on having it reproduced by the
Court painter on his cheek. Another story is to the
effect that when news was received of the crossing ot
the Persian frontier by the Russians, the nobles and
officials waited with interest to see what action would be
taken. The Shah appeared, robed in the " robes of
wrath,'* which were all of red, including a crown studded
with rubies, and with a huge ruby in his dagger hilt.
The nobles expected him to deliver sentence of death,
as was customary when these robes were worn, and
listened to his utterances with awe. His Majesty pro-
tested that the " ill-omened " Russians had violated the
sacred soil of Persia, and enquired, " If we send the house-
hold cavalry to attack them what then } " The reply was,
" May we be thy sacrifice ! They would drive them back
to Moscow." " And if we ourselves went ? '' The nobles
gave no reply, but grovelled on the ground and wept at
the thought of the woes that the Russians would suffer !
Incredible as it may appear, there is no doubt that Fath
Ali Shah hoped the Russians would learn that the Shah

Lxxvii AGGRESSION ON AFGHANISTAN 427

had been seated on his throne wearing the " robes of
wrath/' and that they would be struck with terror and
retire. But, unfortunately for the Shah, the Russians
are a brave and not an imaginative people.

An interesting description of the appearance of Fath
Ali Shah is given by Sir Robert Ker Porter,^ who travelled
through Persia in 1 8 1 8-20.

He was one blaze of jewels, which literally dazzled the sight
on first looking* at him ; but the details of his dress were these :
A lofty tiara of three elevations was on his head, which shape
appears to have been long peculiar to the crown of the great king.
It was entirely composed of thickly-set diamonds, pearls, rubies,
and emeralds, so exquisitely disposed as to form a mixture of the
most beautiful colours in the brilliant light reflected from its sur-
face. Several black feathers, like the heron plume, were intermixed
with the resplendent aigrettes of this truly imperial diadem, whose
bending points were finished with pear-formed pearls of an im-
mense size. The vesture was gold tissue, nearly covered with a
similar disposition of jewelry ; and crossing the shoulders were
two strings [of pearls, probably the largest in the world. I call
his dress a vesture, because it set close to his person, from the
neck to the bottom of the waist, showing a shape as noble as
his air.

At that point, it developed downwards in loose drapery, like
the usual Persian garment, and was of the same costly materials
with the vest. But for splendour, nothing could exceed the
broad bracelet round his arms and the belt which encircled his
waist ; they actually blazed like fire when the rays of the sun
met them.

The Accession of Mohamed Shah^ 1834. — The death of
Fath Ali Shah unchained fierce rivalries, and it was seen
that two of his sons, the Farman Farma and the Zil-u-
Sultan^ Governors of Fars and Teheran respectively, were
prepared to bid for the throne. Fortunately for the
rightful heir, the British Envoy, Sir John Campbell, was
at Tabriz, and by his assistance, both moral and material,
and that of the Russian representative, the new Shah was
able to march on Teheran at the head of a considerable
force commanded by Sir Henry Lindsay Bethune. The
circumstance that he was accompanied by the Ministers
of Great Britain and Russia caused the desertion of the

1 Travels in Georgia^ Persia, etc., vol. i. pp. 325-26 (London, 1 821).

428 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Zil-u-Sultans adherents, and the Pretender hastened
to submit and was present at the coronation of his
nephew. The Farman Farma was a more dangerous
rival, and the EngUsh General was soon marching south
to attack him ; Isfahan was reached by a forced march
and shortly afterwards the rebel army was encountered
near Kumishah. I have visited the site of the battle,
which was decided by artillery fire, against which the
nomad horsemen would not stand. The Farman Farma
fled, but was captured, and died on the way to prison at
Ardebil.

Meanwhile Khorasan had revolted, but its turbulent
chiefs submitted. In Laristan and Arabistan also there
were outbreaks, but these troubles were put down, partly
at any rate thanks to Rawlinson, who had recently
arrived in Persia.

The Second British Military Mission, — In 1832-33
Indian interest in Persia was so far aroused that a quantity
of arms, ammunition, and accoutrements was presented
to the Shah. This handsome gift was followed in 1834
by an important Military Mission, in which all arms of
the service were represented. Among the officers who
were to win distinction were Rawlinson, Stoddart, Sheil,
and D'Arcy Todd. From the start the English officers
were treated with jealousy and hostility by the Persians ;
they had no control over the pay or promotion of the
Persian corps, and the young Shah did not support them.
In 1836 the members of the English Mission at the
royal camp were dismissed with insult ; and in 1838,
when Sir John McNeill hauled down his flag and broke
ofi^ relations with Persia, all the British officers left with
him.

Haji Mirza Aghasi. — Upon his accession Mohamed
Shah brought from Tabriz his Minister, known as the
Kaim Makam^ or Deputy Governor. This personage
had established an extraordinary ascendancy over his
master, but as he insisted on directing every branch of
the administration himself even the rough machinery
of the Persian Government came to a standstill. When
the position was realized by Mohamed Shah the un-

Lxxvii AGGRESSION ON AFGHANISTAN 429

fortunate minister was strangled. He was succeeded by
Haji Mirza Aghasi, who had been tutor to the Shah and
who was both ignorant and fanatical, his attitude towards
all foreigners being one of profound suspicion.

The Afghan Policy of Mohamed Shah, — The death of
Fath Ali Shah, who had been friendly to Great Britain,
and the accession of Mohamed Shah, who was almost
entirely under Russian influence, was disadvantageous
to British policy, as was speedily proved.

No sooner was the new Shah firmly established on
the throne than he organized a large force for a second
Afghan campaign. Kamran Mirza had failed to pay
tribute, had not destroyed the fortifications of Ghorian,
and had added to his oiFences by the execution of some
Persians. Beyond the question of Herat lay that of
Sistan, which Persia coveted and claimed as one of her
provinces, and its annexation at this period by Kamran
Mirza was an additional aifront. The British position
was diplomatically very weak, as it had been agreed
in the Definitive Treaty that Great Britain should not
interfere in case of war between Persia and Afghanistan.
Nevertheless, since the extension of Persian sovereignty
would involve the posting of Russian agents nearer India,
the British Envoy used all his influence to suspend the
expedition.

The Rise of Dost Mohamed, — After the final expulsion
of Mahmud from Kabul, Mohamed Azim, a brother of
Fatteh Khan, governed as the Vizier of a puppet Sadozai
prince ; but after his death his brother. Dost Mohamed,
the son of a Kizilbash woman of low origin, gradually
proved himself the strongest member of the family. As
is almost invariably the case in Afghanistan, his brothers
were his most bitter enemies, especially Sultan Mohamed,
who, after failing to seize Kabul, held Peshawar as a
province of the Sikh kingdom. In spite of many
vicissitudes of fortune. Dost Mohamed had by the year
1826 obtained undisputed possession of Kabul, and
during the next eight years he ruled in comparative peace,
of which he took the fullest advantage not only for
strengthening his position but also for improving his

430 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

own scanty education. In 1834 Shah Shuja, after
obtaining an advance of his pension from the Govern-
ment of India, made a desperate attempt to recover the
throne. He defeated Kuhandil Khan, brother of Dost
Mohamed, and besieged Kandahar, but was repulsed in
the end by a force from Kabul, led by Dost Mohamed in
person.

The Burnes Mission. — In 1836 Lord Auckland, the
Governor -General, despatched Alexander Burnes on a
''commercial" mission to Kabul, where he was well re-
ceived by Dost Mohamed, whom he had visited as a
traveller four years previously. The wish of the Amir
was to reunite to his kingdom Peshawar on the east
and Herat on the west, and he hoped that by means of
a British alliance he would be able to obtain one, if not
both, of his objects. Shortly after the arrival of Burnes,
Captain Vitkavich, a Russian " commercial " agent, reached
Kabul. He had travelled from Persia via Kandahar, and
at that city had induced Kuhandil Khan, who was dis-
loyal to his brother, to promise to co-operate with the
Persians against Herat.

Dost Mohamed paid little attention to the Russian,
and offered to send a force to the assistance of Yar
Mohamed Khan, the Vizier of Kamran Mirza and the
virtual ruler of Herat. In return he stipulated for a
subsidy with which to maintain the troops, and for his re-
cognition by the Government of India as Amir of Kabul.
Burnes, who was favourably impressed by the Afghan
prince, realized that it would be sound policy to strengthen
his hands, and in consequence strongly supported his
demands for a subsidy and for recognition. With regard
to Peshawar he recommended that an arrangement should
be made with Ranjit Singh, by which Dost Mohamed
should hold the city and pay tribute for it to Lahore,
as^ his brother had done. These reasonable terms were
rejected by Lord Auckland, who demanded the dismissal
of Vitkavich and the renouncement by Dost Mohamed
of all claims to the provinces conquered by Ranjit Singh.
Throughout the Governor-General entirely failed to realize
the situation, and he censured Burnes for promising his

Lxxvii AGGRESSION ON AFGHANISTAN 431

support to Kuhandil Khan in case of Persian aggression.
Even in the matter of presents, which are esteemed by-
oriental potentates not merely for their value but as adding
to the dignity of the recipient in the eyes of his Court,
the Mission was furnished scantily and compared most un-
favourably with that of Elphinstone, which had bestowed
splendid gifts on Shah Shuja. Consequently, through no
fault of his own, Burnes failed. Kaye jusdy denounces
the dishonest mutilation of despatches by which Burnes is
made to appear responsible for the failure of the mission.
In a recent novel, too, written to bring out the great
achievement of Eldred Pottinger, Burnes is most unfairly
made to serve as a dark background to the hero. As Kaye
puts it, " Had Burnes been left to obey the dictates of
his own reason and to use the light of his own experience,
he would have conciliated both the Candahar Sirdars
and the Caubul Ameer, and raised up an effective bulwark
in Afghanistan against Persian invasion and Russian
intrigue." -^ It remains to add that Sir John McNeill's
views on the question were practically identical.

The Promises of Vitkavich. — Dost Mohamed, realizing
that the British Government was unwilling to make
reasonable proposals to him, now turned to Vitkavich,
who promised Russian support and agreed, among other
things, that Russian assistance should be given to the
Shah in his campaign against Herat. His mission,
however, like that of Burnes, was a failure, and in the
end he was disowned by the Russian Government and
disappeared from the scene.^ Not content to rely
on vague Russian support. Dost Mohamed ultimately
strengthened his hands by making a treaty with Mohamed
Shah against Kamran Mirza ; ^ thus through British
ineptitude he was forced into taking a step most dis-
advantageous to British policy.

The Second Siege of Herat^ i^'i^-i^'i'^, — In 1836 the
Shah wasted the whole season in ineffectual operations

1 op, cit. i. 311.

2 He committed suicide. For the facts about Vitkavich -vide England and Russia
in the East, p. 152.

^ In Travels and Journals freser'ved in the Bombay Secretariat^ there is a delightful
account of the Afghan embassy to Mohamed Shah, written by the ambassador, who was
of Persian origin.

432 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

against the elusive Turkoman. In 1837, however, he
mustered his army at Shahrud and marched through
Khorasan into the Herat province. Forewarned of the
impending storm, Yar Mohamed Khan had collected a large
proportion of the crops into the city and had destroyed
the remainder. He also burned every village situated
within twelve miles of Herat. Ten thousand horsemen
were instructed to keep the field and harass the enemjr,
and the various strongholds in the province were
garrisoned. The ramparts were repaired and the ditch
was cleaned out and deepened. But the greatest asset of
all was a young English artillery officer, Eldred Pottinger,
who, arriving in disguise, revealed his identity and soon
became the life and soul of the defence, and saved the
city from its assailants. Incidentally Pottinger raised
the prestige of Great Britain in Central Asia, and the
Khan of Khiva informed Major Abbot, whom we shall
meet later on, that the gallantry of that officer was his
first introduction to the British, of whom he had never
previously heard.

The Persian army arrived before Herat in November
and operations began almost immediately. Foraging parties
committed every possible atrocity, and the Shah, to show
the spirit in which he was waging war, ordered the first
prisoner to be bayoneted in his presence. About a
month after the commencement of the siege one of the
bastions was taken, but it was soon retaken, and during
the winter operations dragged on month after month
with no decisive results, the Persian generals working
entirely independently of one another and each being
rather pleased if a rival general was defeated.

In the spring of 1838 Mr. (afterwards Sir John)
McNeill, the British Minister, arrived in the Persian
camp and attempted to persuade the disheartened Shah to
break off the siege. At the monarches request he entered
Herat and drew up an agreement with Yar Mohamed Khan
on behalf of Mohamed Shah. Unfortunately Count
Simonich, the Russian Envoy, arrived at this juncture
and offered the services of a Russian officer. The Shah,
like a true son of Iran, hoped everything from the new-

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Lxxvii AGGRESSION ON AFGHANISTAN 433

comer and for a fortnight would not hear of ratifying the
agreement made by the British Minister. As, however,
Herat did not faU he began to think of it again ; though,
still hoping for success, he could not make up his mind
to face the loss of prestige which failure would involve.
The smallest advantage would buoy him up and a promise
of aid from Kandahar made him decide to continue the
siege. At the same time he slighted the British Envoy
and refused redress when one of his couriers was seized,
being under the impression that Great Britain valued the
friendship of Persia so highly that she would stand even
affronts to her representative.

Matters were in this unsatisfactory state when the
Shah, at a private audience, agreed to fulfil the terms of
the agreement if the Minister would assure him officially
in writing that he would incur the anger of tjie British
Government if the siege were continued. The object of
this, it was explained, was to prove to all that the Shah
was raising the siege in order to avoid offending Great
Britain. The fickle monarch next attempted to extort a
large pecuniary payment for complying with the wishes
of Great Britain, and in view of the lavishness which had
marked previous missions he had good reason to expect
some pecuniary aid. This, however, was refused, and so
he turned the tables on the Minister by sending him a
despatch in which the terms of his communication were
treated as an attack upon the sovereign independent
rights of the King of Kings. This document and the
hostile spirit of the Persian Court induced the British
Envoy to quit the royal camp. At Shahrud he received
instructions from England to express to the Shah the
strongest disapproval of Her Majesty's Government at
his conduct in connexion with Herat and to state that
Great Britain would regard the occupation of that city as
a hostile act. Finally he was to point out that the island
of Kharak had been occupied by British troops.

Shortly after the departure of the British Envoy a
final effort was made by the Persian army. For six days
the defences were battered and a general assault planned
by General Simonich was delivered. Thrice the breach

VOL. II 2 F

434 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

was captured, but the Afghan swordsmen drove the
besiegers back and nearly two thousand of them were
killed or wounded. Perovski, the Pole, was killed, and
Samson, who led the battalion of Russian deserters, was

wounded.

The Shah was utterly dejected, though, like a Persian,
he derived much consolation from the fact that the plan of
attack which failed had been drawn up by a Russian ;
rumour, too, had magnified the scope of the British opera-
tions in the Persian Gulf He was consequently ready to
listen to Colonel Stoddart,^who was sent to him by McNeill,
and, after hearing Stoddart's message, replied in the words
which form a heading to this chapter. Rumours of the
expedition to reinstate Shah Shuja on the throne assisted
the triumph of British policy. Simonich lost all influence,
and the Shah finally left Herat without coming to any
agreement with its ruler. Thus ended the celebrated
siege.

The First Afghan War^ 1 838-1 842. — The siege of
Herat, which to all appearances was bound to fall into
the hands of Persia and to be followed by the capture or
submission of Kandahar, if not of Kabul, reacted most un-
favourably on the political situation in India. Rumours
of a Moslem invasion filled the bazaars, public securities
declined in value, and the speedy end of British rule was
foretold. Under these adverse conditions Lord Auckland
and his advisers decided to make a counter-stroke, and,
as they were hostile to Dost Mahomed, Shah Shuja ^ was
the chosen instrument of their policy. In the first
instance it was proposed to induce Ranjit Singh to co-
operate with Shah Shuja by advancing through the Khyber
Pass on Kabul, while Shah Shuja himself marched on the
capital by Kandahar at the head of an army recruited by
himself This project was duly agreed to by both the
principals, but it was then pointed out to Lord Auckland
that without a British force it would almost certainly
miscarry. As Kaye puts it, since Mohamed Shah was

1 Stoddart was afterwards sent by Sir John M'Neill to Bokhara, with instructions to
make a treaty and obtain the release of Russian prisoners. Owing, perhaps, to the
intrigues of Yar Mohamed, he was first imprisoned and then murdered by the Amir,

2 His full title was Shuja-ul-Mulk, or " The Valour of the Country."

Lxxvii AGGRESSION ON AFGHANISTAN 435

besieging Herat, it was decided that Great Britain should
herself make war upon Dost Mohamed, and this was the
origin of the First Afghan War, which has been justly-
censured more than any other waged by Great Britain
in Asia.

The plan finally adopted was to march to Herat and
raise the siege, to drive Dost Mohamed from Kabul and
to put Shah Shuja in his place. The policy of driving
Persia from Herat was sound, but from a military point
of view the expedition, as originally planned, was almost
beyond the resources of the British army in India. The
centre where the army assembled was Karnal, and the
distance from this frontier cantonment to Kandahar was
eleven hundred miles. From Kandahar to Herat was
four hundred more. The British force, only twenty
thousand strong and encumbered with thausands of
followers, would therefore have had to march the
enormous distance of fifteen hundred miles through a
poor, dry, and possibly hostile country and ^then meet an
enemy not perhaps very formidable in himself, but
possibly strengthened by Russian officers and money, if
not by Russian regiments. When the losses through
hardships, the posting of garrisons at strategical points, and
the probability of attacks by the Afghans are all considered,
this expedition, it must be confessed, was difficult to carry
out from the military point of view, and might well have
ended in disaster. Fortunately, before it started news
reached India that Mohamed Shah had been baffled before
Herat and had marched back to Persia. It might have
been thought that with the removal of this really serious
menace the necessity for engaging a British army in
Afghanistan had passed away.

It was, however, decided that Dost Mohamed, repre-
senting the Barakzai dynasty, must be driven out of
Afghanistan and Shah Shuja, of the Sadozai family, set
up in his place, on the alleged ground that Dost
Mohamed's hostility threatened the peace of India, and
this in the absence of any extreme necessity and without
consulting the Afghans themselves. As long as Mohamed
Shah was besieging Herat there were strong reasons for

436 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

an expedition, but after his failure there were none^ of
sufficient weight, not to speak of the injustice of invading
Afghanistan with the avowed intention of substituting an
inefficient ruler for one of exceptional capacity.

Even with the reduced force which it was now deter-
mined to employ, the question of supplies, expressed in
terms of transport, dominated the military situation
throughout, and the losses both in men and camels in the
Bolan Pass were very heavy. Kandahar was fortunately
undefended, and the army was able to rest in a relatively
fertile centre. There was, indeed, no resistance until
Ghazni was reached. Sir Henry Durand (then a
lieutenant in the Bengal Engineers) gallantly blew up the
Kabul Gate of this city, which alone had not been bricked
up, the garrison fled panic-stricken, and the army, which
was once again on short rations, mainly owing to difficulties
of transport, obtained supplies in abundance. This feat
of arms, which amazed the Afghans, who deemed Ghazni
impregnable, secured a triumphal entry into Kabul in
August, 1839, ^^^ 'Dost Mohamed subsequently sur-
rendered.

Two years later there was a reaction, led by Akbar
Khan, son of Dost Mohamed. The brigade which had
been left to garrison Kabul was badly led, and was finally
induced to evacuate its cantonment in midwinter, with the
result that four thousand fighting men and twelve thousand
followers were cut to pieces while retiring on Jalalabad.

In the spring of 1842 Pollock forced the Khyber and
relieved Jalalabad, but it was not until September that
Lord Ellenborough, who had succeeded Lord Auckland
as Governor-General, permitted Pollock from Jalalabad
and Nott from Kandahar to converge on Kabul, v/hich,
after some fighting, was occupied by both generals.
Meanwhile Shah Shuja had been assassinated, and ultimately
Dost Mohamed, whose feelings towards Great Britain
must have been particularly bitter, was permitted to
return and the British army evacuated Afghanistan.
Thus concluded an enterprise which was unjust, inex-
pedient, and badly led. Its main object was to expel
Dost Mohamed, who was ultimately released and restored

Lxxvii AGGRESSION ON AFGHANISTAN 437

to power by Great Britain. At the same time it is easy to
exaggerate the military importance of the destruction of a
brigade. The loss was avenged, and would in consequence
soon be forgotten. Upon the whole, when we consider
the enormous distances, the lack of supplies and water,
and the bad communications. Great Britain would appear
to have been fortunate in suffering only one disaster.

The British Mission to Herat^ 1839- 1 841. — Yar
Mohamed Khan ^ was the first to congratulate Shah Shuja
upon his restoration to the throne, and it was decided to send
a mission from India to Herat and to make a treaty with its
ruler. Major D'Arcy Todd, who had been with McNeill
at the siege, was selected for the task, and the mission was
" received with every mark of respect by the Monarch and
his Minister.'* A treaty was concluded, by the terms of
which the Government of India paid a monthly subsidy of
twenty-five thousand rupees, in return for which it was
stipulated that all intercourse with Persia should be carried
on through the British. As might have been expected,
however, the Vizier was unable to refrain from intriguing,
and before very long Todd received from the Legation at
Teheran the copy of a letter Yar Mohamed had addressed
to Mohamed Shah, in which he stated that his hopes
rested on the " Asylum of the Universe " and that the
English were tolerated merely from motives of ex-
pediency.

This was condoned, but after a residence of eighteen
months Todd discovered that a mission had been sent by
Yar Mohamed to Meshed. He thereupon stopped pay-
ment of the subsidy and, a breach ensuing, the British
representative, realizing that the Vizier was bitterly hostile,
withdrew from Herat.

The Settlement with Persia, — We must now return to
Persia. Mohamed Shah, as we have seen, when forced to
abandon the siege of Herat, had hastily agreed to fulfil all
the demands of the British Government, but he was most
unwilling to evacuate Ghorian, Farrah, and Afghan
Sabzawar. He was likewise unwilling to apologize to the

^ In Caravan Journeys^ by J. P. Ferrier, a good account is given of this consummate
scoundrel.

438 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

British Minister for the assault upon his courier ; in short,
he was thoroughly out of temper at having failed before
Herat.

Meanwhile he had despatched a certain Husayn Khan
to England with a view to obtaining McNeill's recall.
The envoy was armed with a portentous document in
which the Shah protested that the sole object of his expedi-
tion had been to rescue Persian subjects from slavery, and
complained bitterly of the oppression to which he had been
subjected by the British Minister. Unfortunately for the
Persian representative. Lord Palmerston was Foreign
Minister, and at Vienna he received an intimation that he
would not be recognized as a diplomatic agent, and that
in the demand for the recall of the British Minister Her
Majesty's Government only saw an additional proof that
Sir John McNeill had faithfully and ably performed his
duty. With extreme difficulty the Persian Envoy
obtained an interview with Palmerston. That statesman
finally consented to formulate the demands of the British
Government, which were nine in number, and included
the evacuation of Ghorian and other Afghan strongholds
and a written apology for the ill-treatment of the courier.
Lastly it was stipulated that the signature of a commercial
treaty must accompany the re-establishment of diplomatic
relations. The unsuccessful envoy upon his return " ate
many sticks," in other words was severely bastinadoed.

The Rebellion of Aga Khan^ 1 840- 1 84 1 . — The vitality of
religious sects is remarkable, and Mohamed Shah received
an unpleasant reminder of the fact in the rebellion of Aga
Khan Mahallati. Descended from the Ismailis who
played such a large part on the stage of Persia until
Hulagu crushed the noxious sect, as detailed in Chapter
LVL, Aga Khan,^ who was a Persian nobleman and land-
owner, rose in 1840 and defeated the Governor of Yezd
on the borders of the Kerman province. After some
further successes he was driven away from Kerman and
seized the fort at Bam. Finally he fled to India, where he
assisted the British in Sind and settled down in Bombay.
In 1844-45 ^^s brother Abul Hasan, known as the Sirdar^

^ Vide Ten Thomand Miles^ etc., pp. 68-70 and p. 105.

Lxxvii AGGRESSION ON AFGHANISTAN 439

invaded Persian Baluchistan, but in the end was expelled.
The present representative of the family is one of the
leading and most enlightened Moslems in India, where his
followers are termed Khojas.

Perso-Turkish Relations^ 1 842-1 843. — Since the close
of hostilities between Persia and Turkey there had been
many causes of mutual complaint, as was only to be ex-
pected with an ill-defined frontier inhabited on both sides
by wild and turbulent tribesmen.

In 1842 the Kurdish Vali of Ardelan collected his
horsemen to support a dismissed Pasha of Sulaymania,
whose case the Persian Government had taken up with
slight success, and to meet this force Turkish troops
assembled on their side of the frontier. A Kurdish
detachment was sent to occupy a defile in rear of the
Turkish position, but the manoeuvre was rendered un-
availing by the defeat of the Vali of Ardelan. The matter
was misrepresented at Teheran ; the Shah gave orders for
an army to be assembled, and an outbreak of hostilities
appeared to be imminent. Great Britain and Russia,
however, used their good ofllices, and war was averted.
Subsequently a commission was formed for delimiting
the frontier, and the peace was not broken. In the
following year religious opinion in Persia was outraged by
an attack on Kerbela and a massacre of its inhabitants.
Although this city is on Turkish soil, the cry for war was
universal and extensive military preparations were made ;
but the Turkish Government expressed regret and
promised compensation, and hostilities were again avoided.

The Death of Mohamed Shah^ 1848. — Mohamed Shah
from boyhood had been a martyr to gout, and when he
reached his fortieth year he was attacked by a complica-
tion of maladies to which he succumbed. His differences
with Great Britain and his failure before Herat, combined
with ill-health, had soured his character, which was
certainly bigoted and cruel ; but according to his lights he
was not a bad Shah. The state of Persia, however, was
not satisfactory ; for Haji Mirza Aghasi, who had been its
virtual ruler for thirteen years, " was utterly ignorant of
statesmanship or of military science, yet too vain to receive

440 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap, lxxvh

instruction and too jealous to admit of a coadjutor ; brutal
in his language ; insolent in his demeanour ; indolent in
his habits ; he brought the exchequer to the verge of
bankruptcy and the country to the brink of revolution.
The pay of the army was generally from three to five
years in arrears. The cavalry of the tribes was almost
annihilated." Such — to adopt the weighty words of
Rawlinson — was the condition of Persia in the middle of
the nineteenth century.

MoHAMED Shah.

CHAPTER LXXVIIl

THE FINAL SETTLEMENT OF THE PERSO-AFGHAN QUESTION

His Majesty the Shah of Persia agrees to relingulsh all claims to sovereignty
over the territory and city of Herat and the countries of Afghanistan, and
never to demand from the chiefs of Herat, or of the countries of Afghanistan,
any marks of obedience, such as the coinage or " Khutba," or tybute.

His Majesty further engages to abstain hereafter from all interference w^ith
the internal affairs of Afghanistan. His Majesty promises to recognize the
independence of Herat and of the whole of Afghanistan, and never to attempt
to interfere with the independence of those States.

In case of differences arising between the Government of Persia and the
countries of Herat and Afghanistan the Persian Government engages to refer
them for adjustment to the friendly offices of the British Government, and not
to take up arms unless those friendly offices fail of effect.

The Treaty of Paris, Art. 6.

The Accession of Nasir-u-Dm^ 1848. — After the death
of Mohamed Shah there was no opposition to the accession
of the Heir- Apparent, whose age was sixteen. Disorders,
however, broke out in the provinces, and the capital was
the scene of intrigues, mainly directed against Haji Mirza
Aghasi. On the advice of the British and Russian
ministers he withdrew from the direction of affairs.
Nasir-u-Din reached Teheran from Tabriz about six
weeks after the decease of his father, and was crowned
at midnight.

Aiirza Taki Khan^ Amir-i-Nizam. — In Persia the
Vizier almost invariably plays a preponderating r61e, and
therefore at a time when it seemed possible that the
country would break up the choice of a chief Minister
by the new Shah was most important. Usually the post
is filled by a man of humble origin, and to this rule Mirza
Taki Khan was no exception. His father was cook, and

441

442 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

afterwards steward, of the Kaim Makam, the first Vizier
of Mohamed Shah. The son entered the service of the
Persian Commander-in-Chief and went to St. Petersburg
in his suite on the occasion of the embassy of Khusru
Mirza, His promotion was rapid until he became Vizier
of the army of Azerbaijan. Later on he represented
Persia on the frontier commission which met at Erzeroum.
Mirza Taki Khan's last appointment was that of Chief
Officer of the Heir-Apparent, who, when he came to the
throne, not unnaturally appointed him Chief Minister.
He disarmed jealousy as far as possible by refusing the
title of Sadr-i-Aazam^ or " Prime Minister," and assumed
that oi Amir-i-Nizam^ or "Chief of the Army."

The new Vizier was determined to remedy the various
existing abuses, such as the sale of appointments and
governorships, the enormous number of pensions granted
to unworthy persons, and the robbery of the soldiers by
their officers. At first he made little way, as few Persians
could credit the existence of a minister who was both
truthful and incorruptible. Gradually, however, the word
was passed round that bribery and corruption were of no
avail, and with some public opinion at his back he re-
formed abuse after abuse, and placed the finances of the
country on something resembling a business-like footing.
Naturally his reforms raised up a host of enemies, among
whom was the powerful Queen-mother, but the young
Shah at first supported him loyally, and even gave him
his own sister in marriage.

The Rebellion of the Salar. — In Persia the Turks of
Azerbaijan play the leading part. By custom the Heir-
Apparent governs this province, and upon succeeding to
the throne marches to Teheran surrounded by his staff of
Turks. The army, too, and certainly the most trust-
worthy portion of it, is mainly recruited in this province,
which also supplies all the artillerymen. Consequently
the Kajar dynasty came to be identified with " the Turks,"
and in many cases risings were inspired by hatred of these
alien garrisons ; for the inhabitants of Azerbaijan speak
little or no Persian.

Towards the close of the reign of Mohamed Shah a

Lxxviii THE PERSO-AFGHAN QUESTION 443

young Kajar Khan known as the Salar, son of the Asaf-
u-Dola, had rebelled. He had induced many of the
chiefs of Khorasan to join him, but they deserted and he
was forced to seek refuge among the Turkoman together
with Jafar Kuli Khan, chief of Bujnurd. Shortly after-
wards the two rebels returned to Khorasan and reoccupied
Bujnurd. Again they were attacked and again they fled,
Jafar Kuli Khan taking refuge on this occasion with Yar
Mohamed Khan of Herat.

The death of Mohamed Shah gave the Pretender his
chance, and before long, owing to hatred of the Turks,
almost all the chiefs of Khorasan had joined the young
Khan, whose personality was attractive and courage un-
doubted. Yar Mohamed Khan brought two thousand
sowars to Meshed as a reinforcement for Hamza Mirza^
the Persian Governor-General, who had promised him
twenty guns and two frontier posts in return for his
assistance. But the forces of the Salar were too strong,
and Meshed was evacuated, the Governor-General retiring
in the direction of the Afghan frontier. Meanwhile a
force of six thousand infantry under Sultan Murad Mirza
reached Khorasan from Teheran and, mainly owing to
the desertion of the Bujnurd chief, the Salar was driven
to shut himself up in Meshed, where he was besieged for
eighteen months. Finally the citizens of the Sacred City
entered into negotiations with the besiegers, and sur-
rendered Meshed and the Salar. The Pretender was
tortured in barbarous fashion to make him reveal his
treasure, and was then strangled. He was buried in the
shrine of Khoja Rabi, close to the city.

The Bab, — ^Among the latest religions to which Asia
has given birth is that of the Bab. Its founder, Sayyid
Ali Mohamed,^ born in 1820, was the son of a grocer of
Shiraz, who evincing a religious disposition was sent to
Kerbela, where he studied at the feet of celebrated doctors
of law and gained distinction for the austerities he
practised and for his love of learning. At the age of

^ These sections are based on The Episode of the Bab, The New History of the Bab, and
the article in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics : in each case the author is Prof. E.
G. Browne. A brief account of the sect is also given in The Sword of Islam by Sir A.
WoUaston.

444 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

twenty-four he proclaimed himself the Bab^ or " Gate,"
intimating thereby that he was the " Gate " through which
men might attain to knowledge of the Twelfth Imam. In
the same year the Bab, as he was thenceforth termed,
undertook the pilgrimage to Mecca and on returning by
way of Bushire attracted considerable attention, followers
gathering round him in large numbers. Encouraged by
this support, he determined to convert his own city to his
doctrines. In spite of the fact that his representative was
bastinadoed and mutilated by the Governor — the same
Husayn Khan who had been unsuccessful as an envoy
to England — the Bab entered Shiraz. Confronted with
the doctors of law, he declared that the mission of
Mohamed was ended and that he himself had come to
inaugurate a new era. The astonished assembly requested
a written statement of his claims, but when this was
presented it was found to be illegible. The Bab was
consequently pronounced a madman and was beaten and
imprisoned.

His followers meanwhile increased in numbers and
persecutions were instituted. An attack was made by
the Shirazis on the house where the founder of the sect
was imprisoned, but he escaped to Isfahan. After a while
he was sent in captivity to Maku, in the extreme north-
west corner of Persia, and thence to Chihrik, near Urumia,
where he declared himself to be the Imam Mahdi.

Finally he was ordered to execution at Tabriz. In
the great square he received the volley of a firing party,
and when the smoke rolled away he was not to be seen.
The shots had cut his ropes and he had fled. Had he
gained the town he might have escaped, and his religion
would have been firmly established by the miracle — as it
would have been deemed. Unfortunately for himself, he
took refuge in the guard-room, where he was found.
He was at once taken back to the square and shot.

His Doctrines, — His doctrines, as expounded in the
Bayan^ or " Book of Doctrine," are mystical and obscure.
To quote Wollaston, " God is Eternal and Unapproach-
able. All things come from Him and exist by Him. Man
cannot approach Him except through some appointed

From a photograph l<y Majoj- //'. R. Iuitt_\i.\
'J'HE SHRINK OF KHOIA KABI.

Lxxviii THE PERSO-AFGHAN QUESTION 445

medium. So, distinct from God, there is a Primal Will
which becomes incarnate in the prophets- This Primal
Will spoke in the Bab, and will speak in ' him whom God
shall manifest ' ; and after him through others, for there is
no cessation in these manifestations."

Browne points out that the doctrines " formed together
a system bold, original and, to the Persian mind, singularly-
attractive ; but, taken separately, there was hardly one of
which he could claim to be the author, and not very many
which did not mount to a remote antiquity." He goes
on to point out that the title of Bab^ had been already
assumed by the four intimates of the Twelfth Imam, and
that other theories advanced were those of the Ismailis.
Even the virtues of the number nineteen, the " Number
of the Unity," were not new.

I have made no special study of Babiism, as for
an official this would be difficult, and my connexion with
members of the sect has been principally confined to saving
their lives in times of persecution. Students, however,
notice that in its modern development there is an increas-
ingly close connexion with Christian ideals and practices
in Western Asia, whereas in Persia the converts remain
practically Moslems of the Shia sect and find difficulty in
assimilating the spirit of the new teaching.

The Fortunes of the Babis, — Mirza Yahya, a youth of
nineteen known as Subh-i-Ezel, or "Morning of Eternity,"
who had apparently been nominated by the Bab, succeeded
him after his execution, and for some years (from 1 850-68)
his position was undisputed. In 1852, owing to the per-
secution referred to below, he fled to Baghdad, and ten
years later he and his followers were transferred to
Adrianople at the request of the Shah.

The Subh-i-Ezel was too peace-loving and unworldly
to control a community of enthusiasts, and gradually the
direction of affairs fell entirely into the hands of his elder
half-brother, the Baha UUa, or "Splendour of God."

1 The Shaylchis of Kerman {Ten Thousand Miles^ etc.^ p. 196) claim for their leader
that he is a Shia-i-Kamil, or " Perfect Shia," who serves as a " Channel of Grace "
between the absent Imam and his church. I am afraid that I offended the late head of
the Shaykhis, for whom I had great respect, by writing that the " Channel of Grace '
did not differ materially from the " Gate."

446 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

For a while Baha UUa acted nominally on the instructions
of the Subh-i-Ezelj but about 1866 he proclaimed himself
as " Him whom God shall manifest " and called upon his
brother to acknowledge his supreme authority. There
was a desperate conflict between the two parties, but Baha
UUa finally triumphed, only a faithful few clinging to his
brother. In 1868 the Turkish Government decided to
separate the rivals. Subh-i-Ezel was sent to Cyprus,
where he died recently at a great age.^ Baha Ulla was
interned at Acre, and, dying in 1892, was succeeded by
his son. Abbas Effendi, although differences arose between
the new leader and his younger brother, Mirza Mohamed
Ali. The present head of the religion, who is generally
known as Abdul Baha, or " The Slave of the Splendour,"
has created a much wider sphere for his activities : he
preaches peace and goodwill among men in Europe and
America and is more concerned with ethical than with
metaphysical questions.

Babi Plots and Risings^ 1850- 1852. — In 1850 the
followers of the Bab attempted to seize the fanatical city
of Yezd,^ but failed and fled to Kerman. A conspiracy was
also formed to assassinate the Amir-i-Nizam^ but it was
discovered and the conspirators were seized and executed.
Of greater importance was the outbreak in the same year
at Zanjan, a town famous for its goldsmiths* work, to
the west of Kazvin. The chief Mulla had embraced the
new doctrines, and he and his followers seized the city.
Following in the footsteps of the Kharijites, they tortured
to death all prisoners and defied a large Persian army,
buoyed up with the hope that they would soon possess
the entire world. The siege lasted throughout the
summer, but finally their leader, Mulla Mohamed Ali,
was wounded and died, and their stronghold was captured.
Men, women, and children were massacred by the
besiegers.

^ While holding the post of Consul at Kerman I had a correspondence with Subh-i-
Ezel, whose daughter had claims on some property. He wrote that he renounced all
claims j and it was impossible not to sympathize deeply with the unworldly old man,
deserted by practically all his followers.

2 In 1903 a terrible persecution arose out of a dispute in the bazaar. Any one who
wished to settle accounts with an enemy denounced him as a Babi and was given a
document signed by the Mujtahid ordering his death. Awful atrocities were committed.

From a f>kotogrnf'k by Mt-ssrs. Lafayette.

ABDL'I. BAH A.

Lxxvni THE PERSO-AFGHAN QUESTION 447

Two years later the life of the Shah was attempted by
four Babis who posed as petitioners. He was wounded
in the thigh, and the report was spread of his death. The
punishment inflicted on. the conspirators was barbarous.
At first ten prisoners were executed. In the case of two,
lighted candles were stuck into them, and after suflFering
this torture, they were hacked asunder with a hatchet.
A reign of terror then ensued, and the Chief Minister, to
avoid concentrating on himself the vengeance of the Babis,
distributed the prisoners among the oflicers of the state,^
who did them to death.

The Babis, including their famous poetess, the Kurrat-
ul-Ayn, or " Coolness of the Eyes," displayed such bravery
that they gained sympathy not only among their fellow-
countrymen, but also among the Europeans resident in
Teheran, and probably their heroic behaviour gained many
converts to the new religion.

Foundation of the Russian Naval Station at Ashurada^
1 840. — The peculiarity of the southern coast of the Caspian
littoral consists in salt lagoons formed by narrow spits of
land. That of Enzeli, the port of Resht, has already been
referred to, and at Astrabad there is another. In this
latter case the long narrow promontory runs out for thirty
miles from the western coast and terminates in three small
islands, the most easterly of which is close to the eastern
coast of the Caspian Sea. In 1836 the Persian Govern-
ment had applied to the Tsar for naval assistance against
Turkoman pirates, who raided the coasts of Mazanderan
with impunity. This was granted, and the Russians,
realizing the advantage of founding a permanent naval
station in the south-east corner of the Caspian, occupied
the island of Ashurada^ about the year 1840. The
Government of the Shah remonstrated against this seizure
of Persian soil, but without success. The Russian
Minister, without denying the validity of the Persian
claim to the island, pointed out that pirates could be held

^ The Shah's French doctor excused himself from hacking a Babi to pieces by saying
that he killed too many men professionally to increase the number by homicide !

^ In 1893 I anchored off the island, and I was surprised at its smallness, which is
such that during a storm spray sweeps right across it. It is notoriously unhealthy, and
the life of the officials posted on it must be trying in the extreme.

448 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

in check only by means of ships operating from a base, and
that it would put an end to the beneficent naval activity
of Russia if Ashurada were evacuated. As the Turkoman
would have immediately recommenced their raids if the
Russian ships had left, this argument would appear to
have had weight.

The Turkoman were by no means disposed to acquiesce
tamely in a new order which prevented their raids. In
1 8 5 1 they surprised the island and killed or carried off its
garrison. It was given out — possibly in order to " save
face '* — that these raiders had been assisted by Persia, and
the Russian representative demanded the dismissal of the
Shah's brother from the governorship of Mazanderan.
This demand sorely tried the Amir-i-Nizam, who held it
to be wholly unjustified, but after protesting strongly he
wisely yielded to the Northern Power.

The Fall of the Amir-i-Nizam^ 1851 — Nasir-u-Din
showed remarkable loyalty to his great Minister ; but, as
was only to be expected, the influence brought to bear,
which pointed out his undoubted popularity among the
soldiers, who knew that they owed their regular pay and
clothing to him, at length aroused the fears of the Shah.
Surrounding himself with his guards, he sent a messenger
to his Minister to inform him that he was no longer Vizier,
but only Commander of the army. This order was re-
ceived with perfect submission, and Mirza Aga Khan, the
Itimad-u-Dola, was appointed Sadr-i-Aazam. The fallen
Amir-i-Nizam, but for ill-advised action on his behalf by
the Russian Minister, who declared him protected by the
Tsar and then withdrew from this position, might have
weathered the storm. But this intervention and the
intrigues of his enemies goaded the Shah to order him to
retire to Kashan. There, watched by his devoted wife, he
lived for two months, but it was then decided to execute him,
and he was seized by a ruse. In the bath of the beautiful
palace at Fin his veins were opened, and Persia's great
Minister passed away. It is said that people have the
rulers they deserve and, if so, Persia is to be sincerely
pitied ; for she is ruled, as Europe was in medieval times,
by officials whose main desire is to amass wealth per fas aut

Lxxviii THE PERSO-AFGHAN QUESTION 449

nefas. However this may be, the regrets which the
traveller feels when visiting the charming gardens and
pavilions of Fin are rendered more poignant when he
reflects that, had this Minister governed for twenty years,
he might have trained up some honest, capable men to
succeed him. The death of the Amir-i-Nizam was, indeed,
a calamity for Persia ; for it arrested the progress which
had been so painfully achieved and, as the near future
was to prove, it had an equally disastrous eflFect on her
external relations.

The Herat duestion^ 1 85 i-i 853. — Yar Mohamed Khan,
who had successfully maintained the independence of
Herat against Persia and the Barakzais of Kabul and
Kandahar, died in 1851. He was succeeded by his son,
Said Mohamed, a dissolute and almost imbecile youth,
who, in order to strengthen his position at home, where
his incapacity had raised up a host of enemies, opened up
negotiations with Persia. This action affected the British
Government, and two years later a treaty was imposed
on Persia by the terms of which that power " engaged not
to send troops on any account to the territory of Herat,
excepting when troops from without attack the place." ^
Although Persia agreed to sign this treaty, there is no
doubt that it was unpalatable to the Shah and was not
\ ithout its influence on the events which followed.

Russian Negotiations with Persia^ 1853-18 55. — In the
autumn of 1 853 Prince Dolgoruki made secret proposals to
the Shah that Persia should co-operate with Russia against
Turkey. This was to be eff'ected in the first instance by
collecting forces to threaten Erzeroum and Baghdad from
Azerbaijan and Irak respectively, and then, if it appeared
advisable, by declaring war and invading the Ottoman
dominions from both these bases. It was agreed that, in
the event of success, the territory seized by Persia should
be either retained by that power or given back to Turkey
upon payment. As a further inducement to accept this
tempting oflFer, the Tsar promised, if war were declared,
to remit the balance of the Turkomanchai indemnity ; and,
if only a demonstration were made, the entire cost would

1 AitchisorCs Treaties, No, XVII. p. 71.
VOL. II 2 G

450 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

be deducted from the debt. The Shah swallowed the bait
and accepted these proposals, but the Russian Minister
had to reckon with the Sadr-i-Aazam. That astute in-
dividual pointed out that, if it was open to Persia to
co-operate with Russia, it was equally open to join Turkey.
He added that, if Great Britain and France intervened
on her side, Persia might be able to sweep away the
humiHating treaty of Turkomanchai and win back the lost
provinces. The Shah was convinced by this reasoning,
and, although orders had actually been issued for assembling
forces in the provinces of Azerbaijan and Kermanshah, it
was now decided to watch events and not to commit Persia
definitely. This veering round on the part of the Shah
deeply chagrined Prince Dolgoruki, who vented his wrath
on the Sadr-i-Aazam. Nasir-u-Din made overtures to
Great Britain and France, and was advised by those Powers,
which had now joined in the Russo-Turkish war, to remain
neutral. This counsel, which was most displeasing to its
recipient and to the Court of Persia, caused the Sadr-i-
Aazam to view the Russian proposals with less disfavour.
Possibly he realized that it was dangerous to thwart Russia,
and possibly also the lack of energy and vigour with which
the war was waged by Great Britain, which did not make
any use of her Indian army, influenced him in the same
direction.

The Breach with Great Britain^ 1^55- — Persia was
undoubtedly annoyed with Great Britain, but the trifling
question which divided the two governments need not in
itself have caused a rupture. It is not impossible that it
was intentionally used for that purpose ; but it is equally
possible that the breach to which it led was not foreseen
or intended by the Persian Government. In 1854 the
British Legation had engaged as Persian Secretary a
certain Mirza Hashim Khan, who had formerly been in
Persian employment but had quitted the service some
years before. The Sadr-i-Aazam objected to his holding
the post, and this point was yielded, as it was obviously
undesirable to employ as a go-between an individual
who was disliked by the Persian Minister. When the
Sadr-i-Aazam first expressed his wishes on the subject, he

Lxxviii THE PERSO-AFGHAN QUESTION 451

suggested that Mirza Hashim might be sent to Shiraz as
British Agent ; but when this appointment was actually
made he declared that, inasmuch as the man had never
obtained a formal discharge from the service of the Persian
Government, he was ineligible to hold any post under
the British, and that his acceptance of the Agency would
not be permitted. This objection was frivolous, for it is
well known that in Persia formal discharges are unheard
of, and the Sadr-i-Aazam added insult by arresting and
detaining Mirza Hashim's wife. Mr. Murray, the newly-
arrived Minister, agreed in the interests of peace that, if
the Mirza were granted a slightly better paid post by the
Persian Government, and if his safety were guaranteed
and his wife restored to him, he would be discharged
from the British service. Not only was this most reason-
able proposal refused, but the unscrupulous Minister stated
openly that the British representative had retained the
Mirza simply on account of his wife. An offensive letter
followed, in which a threat was made that, if the British
flag were struck, there would be certain unpleasant revela-
tions. The Minister finally broke off relations, and at
the end of 1855 quitted Teheran. Weeks, and then
months, passed without any communication from England.
The Sadr-i-Aazam consequently began to think that he
had triumphed over Mr. Murray, and in his somewhat
premature exultation he resolved to gratify the national
wish to obtain possession of Herat.

The Anglo -Afghan Alliance^ 1855. — The threatening
attitude of Persia towards Afghanistan caused Dost
Mohamed to embrace cordially the idea of an alliance
with Great Britain. Early in 1855 Sir John Lawrence
concluded a treaty of perpetual peace and friendship^
with the representative of our erstwhile enemy, thereby
ending the twelve years of hostility and suspicion which
the First Afghan War had bequeathed as a legacy.

The Change of Rulers at Herat^ 1855. — Almost simul-
taneously with the conclusion of this treaty, the situation
in the Herat province underwent a radical change. Said
Mohamed, who was totally unfitted to rule, was deposed

1 The text is given in Rawlinson's v^jrl^, App. II.

452 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

by his subjects in favour of Mohamed Yusuf, a Sadozai,
who in order to avenge the death of Kamran Mirza put
his rival to death. Mohamed Yusuf, who had long resided
in exile at Meshed, was rightly regarded as a Persian
nominee. Dost Mohamed, who by the recent death of
Kuhendil Khan had gained Kandahar, was most anxious
for Great Britain to take action in defence of her interests
at Herat, and when this step was deprecated as premature
he proposed himself to attack the city with an Afghan
army.

The Occupation of Herat by Persia^ 1856. — Meanwhile,
as already stated, Persia was recklessly bent on breaking
the treaty of 1853, and in the spring of 1856 a Persian
army marched on Herat, where it was welcomed by
Mohamed Yusuf. Shortly afterwards there was a rising
against the overbearing Persians, and Mohamed Yusuf
hoisted the British flag and appealed for aid to Dost
Mohamed. As the result of a second rising, however,
Mohamed Yusuf was seized and sent a prisoner to the
Persian camp. His deputy, Isa Khan, held the city for
some months, but in October, 1856, the science of a
French engineer, M. Buhler, brought about its fall, and
Persian possession of Herat was at last made good.

The Second British Treaty with Dost Mohamed^ 1857.
— Action was then taken by Great Britain against Persia in
two ways, one of which was indirect ; for by a second treaty,
concluded in January, 1857,^ Dost Mohamed was granted
a subsidy of a lac of rupees per month during the con-
tinuation of the war, on condition that the money was
spent on his army. Muskets also were supplied to him
in large numbers. Dost Mohamed, however, made no
attack on Herat, and exercised little or no influence on
the course of the war, which lasted for only a short
period.

British Operations against Persia^ 1856-18 57. — The
direct action was a declaration of war, most reluctantly made,
by Great Britain against Persia. Few wars have resembled
that which followed. The usual question is how to injure
an enemy most eff^ectively, but on this occasion the efforts

^ The text is given in Rawlinson's work, A pp. III.

Lxxviii THE PERSO- AFGHAN QUESTION 453

of our statesmen were directed to securing the evacuation
of Herat without inflicting a heavy blow on Persia.
Alternative schemes presented themselves to the British
military authorities. The Indian army might march
direct on Herat with a friendly and allied Afghan army.
Another plan, more difficult to execute, was to march on
Herat from Bandar Abbas. Both would have involved
immense eflFort and cost. It was finally decided to operate
in the Persian Gulf and at Mohamera, and in the first
instance to occupy the island of Kharak, which was seized
on the 4th of December. Five days later a force dis-
embarked near Bushire. The old Dutch fort of Reshire
was held staunchly by some Tangistanis, and four British
officers were killed while storming it. Bushire was then
bombarded and surrendered.^

In January, 1 857, Sir James Outram assumed command
and determined to attack a Persian force which was re-
ported to be holding Borazjun, distant forty-six miles
from Bushire in the direction of Shiraz. The strong
British column found the formidable fort unoccupied,
the enemy having fled panic-stricken without removing
their munitions or camp equipage. Outram, being un-
provided with transport, could not risk being entangled
in the difficult defiles, and consequently, after blowing
up the Persian magazine, began a night march back to
Bushire. The Persian General, made aware of the re-
tirement by the explosion of 40,000 lbs. of gunpowder,
pursued the British force, which he overtook in the dark
at Khushab and briskly attacked with artillery fire.^ At
dawn the British cavalry and artillery advanced. The
execution done by the artillery shook the Persian army,
and the 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry charged a regiment
and rode through it, sabring the men. Outram fell from
his horse and was stunned, and this accident caused some
delay in the advance of the British infantry, so that the

1 A Persian friend, now over eighty years of age, has described to me how he fled
from Bushire in charge of his mother and sisters, and was robbed by fugitive Persian
soldiers at Ahmadi, the first stage out of the town. His father, the Karguzar^
or Foreign Oflfice Agent, was taken to India, where he appears to have been well

treated.

- The best account of this action is given by the late General (then Lieut.) Ballard

in Blackwood's Magazine for 1861.

454 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

day was actually won by the cavalry and artillery. The
Persians retreated in fair order and were not effectively
pursued, owing to the smallness of the force of cavalry
and its reckless and unnecessary use in the action. Had
it been properly handled the defeat might have been
converted into a rout.

The next operation was directed against Mohamera.
In March the expeditionary force re-embarked and made
for the Shatt-ul-Arab. Mohamera, which had been made
over to the Persians by the treaty of Erzeroum,^ had
been strongly fortified with heavy batteries on both banks
of the Karun. Outram's task was consequently difficult,
and it appears to have been conducted with great skill.
A mortar battery was prepared on a raft, and this was
towed upstream by night to a point opposite the Persian
battery on the right bank of the Karun, no attempt being
made to prevent its passage. In the morning the fire
from the steamers, aided by the mortar battery, silenced
the forts, the transports were towed up into the Karun,
and the troops were landed two miles above Mohamera.
The Persians fled, leaving their guns, munitions, and camp
behind them. Outram sent a flotilla up the Karun as far
as Ahwaz, which was occupied, while the Persian army
retreated. This concluded the operations.

The Conclusion of Peace^ '^^Sl- — The Persian Govern-
ment had sued for peace directly after the capture of
Bushire, and the treaty had actually been signed before
the Karun expedition took place, but in the absence of
telegraphic communication news of the signature did not
reach Outram in time. By the terms of the treaty, con-
cluded in Paris, the Shah agreed to evacuate Afghanistan
and to recognize its independence. He furthermore
agreed that, in case of future disputes between the two
Powers, recourse should be made to the good offices of
Great Britain before resort to arms. A suitable apology
was tendered to the British Envoy ; and, as Mirza
Hashim had already made his peace and all imputations
against his wife had been withdrawn, the original cause
of the breach of relations had disappeared. The Persians

1 For this treaty 'uide Chapter LXXIX.

-=-,

Lxxviii THE PERSO-AFGHAN QUESTION 455

were amazed at British magnanimity in exacting no
guarantee, no indemnity, and no concession ; and the
joy of the Sadr-i-Aazam at the absence of any demand
for his dismissal may be imagined.-^

From the British point of view relations with Persia
became better after the war, which Persians seldom refer
to with bitterness ; and, as the Indian Mutiny broke out
a few weeks later, it was fortunate that no British troops
were locked up in Persia or Afghanistan.

The New Ruler of Herat, — The Persian Government,
forewarned of the terms of the treaty, hastened to hand
over Mohamed Yusuf to the relatives of Said Mohamed,
by whom he was put to death. A Barakzai Sirdar^
Sultan Ahmad Khan, a refugee nephew and son-in-law of
Dost Mohamed, was appointed Governor of Herat upon
agreeing to cause the Khutba to be read in the name of
the Shah. The young Sirdar hastened to his principality,
where he arrived before the Persian General, a prince of
the blood, had heard of the new agreement. The latter,
roused from his slumbers by the intrusion of the
importunate Afghan, promptly ordered him to be seized
and bastinadoed. After this favourite punishment had
been inflicted, matters were duly explained and the Sirdar
was seated on the Herat throne. Consequendy, although
Persia had been defeated, she was able both to keep the
terms of the Treaty of Paris and yet to rule Herat
through Sultan Ahmad Khan, who even visited Teheran
and received a robe of honour from his gracious suzerain
the Shah. It is diflScult to understand why the British
Government did not insist on the handing over of the
province to Dost Mohamed, and it looks as if the astute
Persian got the better of the British negotiator.

During this period of transition, a deputation of
British oflicers from the Teheran mission was despatched
to Herat ; but the Afghan Prince was not satisfied with
receiving " the moral support of England's recognition
and sympathy " and little else. A Russian mission under

1 It is not generally known that we owe the invention of khaki to this war, the
Persian word signifying " of dust," and so "dust-coloured." It appears that some
Persian troops dressed in this dust-coloured uniform were almost invisible at a distance,
and the Indian authorities accordingly adopted it.

456 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

KhanikoiF, in 1858, was not . more successful. The
Afghan remembered the punishment meted out to Dost
Mohamed for receiving Vitkavich, and the Persian
Government was by no means ready to see Russian in-
fluence predominant at Herat. Consequently, Khanikoff^s
mission was a decided failure.

The Assertion of Persian Authority on the Persian Gulf
Littoral, — It has been stated in this work more than once
that Persia has never been a sea-power. Nadir Shah, as
mentioned in Chapter LXXII., made an effort to assert
his authority in the Persian Gulf, but, conscious of the
difficulty of garrisoning its ports, he granted the district
of Bandar Abbas and the islands of Hormuz and Kishm
to the Shaykh of the Bani Maani tribe, in return for an
annual tribute. Towards the end of the eighteenth
century a fighting ruler of Oman, Sultan bin Ahmad,'^
engaged in foreign conquests. Chahbar was first reduced,
and then Kishm, Hormuz, Bahrein, and Bandar Abbas.
In 1798 Sultan bin Ahmad received from the Persian
Government 2ifarman^ by the terms of which, in return
for an annual payment of tomans 6000, he farmed the
Bandar Abbas district. In the same year an agreement
was made by this ruler with the English, who were
permitted not only to reopen their factory at Bandar
Abbas, but to garrison it with 700 sepoys. About this
period the British naval station of Basidu (Bassadore), on
the island of Kishm, was founded with the sanction of the
ruler of Maskat : it still remains British property, although
not at present garrisoned.

In the middle of the nineteenth century the Persian
Government decided to administer the ports directly, and
during the absence of Sayyid Said of Maskat at Zanzibar
expelled the Maskat Governor. An expedition from
Maskat recaptured the ports ; but the Persians, having
received large reinforcements, were too strong for Sayyid
Said, who was hampered by a British interdict against
movements of armed parties by sea. Finally, in 1856,
peace was made, on the terms that the Imam of Maskat
should farm the ports for twenty years on an increased

^ Vide Badger's Imams of Oman ^ p. 226.

Lxxviii THE PERSO-AFGHAN QUESTION 457

rental of tomans 16,000 and that Hormuz and Kishm
were to be regarded as Persian territory. At the present
time the only possession left to Maskat outside Oman is
the litde town of Gwadur, which is one of the ports of
British Baluchistan.

Nasir-u-Dxn Shah-

CHAPTER LXXIX

THE ENVELOPMENT OF PERSIA

From Merv, last home of the free-lance, the clansmen are scattering far,
And the Turkmdn horses are harnessed to the guns of the Russian Czar.

Sir Alfred Lyall.

The Advance of Russia in Central Asia. — In the first
half of the nineteenth century the most important events
that affected Persia were the advance of Russia across the
Caucasus and the annexation by that power, after two
successful campaigns, of all the Persian provinces that lay
to the north of the Aras. The latter half of the same
century has witnessed a still greater advance of the
northern power in Central Asia, ending in the marking
out of a frontier line coterminous with that of Persia to
the east of the Caspian Sea. I propose, therefore, to give
some account of this extraordinary southern movement.^

The first Russian embassy to Khiva and Bokhara,
conducted by Antony Jenkinson in the sixteenth century,
has already been recorded in Chapter LXIL Early in
the eighteenth century Peter the Great entered into
relations with the Khanates of Khiva and Bokhara, and
the ruler of the former state declared himself ready to
accept Russian suzerainty in return for protection against
Bokhara. In 1 7 1 5 a column under Count Bekovich was

^ The authorities consulted (in addition to works already mentioned) include
Narrati've of a Journey from Herat to Khiva^ 1856, by Major James Abbott; From
Heraut to Ourenbourg^ by Capt. Sir R. Shakespear {Blackzvood's Magazine, June, 1842) j
A Ride to Khi'ua, by Capt. F. Burnaby ; Life and Tranjeh, by Arminius Vamb^ry ; The
Mer-v Oasis, by E. O'Donovan ; and Eastern Persia, by Sir F. Goldsmid.

458

CHAP. Lxxix ENVELOPMENT OF PERSIA 459

despatched on an exploring expedition with the consent
of the Khan, but his death changed the entire position,
and the Russian expedition was attacked by his successor
and annihilated. No steps were taken to retrieve this
disaster. During the years which followed Russia
gradually absorbed the Kirghiz, the "Middle Horde''
submitting in 1702, and Orenburg was fortified as a base
for subsequent operations. During the latter half of the
eighteenth century the Russian advance was almost entirely
stopped. In the nineteenth century Russia resumed her
forward policy, and in 1822 she incorporated the "Little
Horde " in the Orenburg government. The suspicions
of Khiva and Bokhara were fully aroused by these
acts.

The position of Russia in 1 838-1 839, just before the
great advance began, was as follows. To the west of the
Caspian Sea the Caucasus was still unsubdued, and more
than one hundred thousand Russian soldiers were besieg-
ing what was aptly termed " the greatest fortress in the
world." In Central Asia, with which we are more
immediately concerned, the Russian boundary ran up the
Ural River to Orenburg and thence to Troitzka. From
this centre it was drawn to Petro-pavlovsk, and so on
to Omsk and Semipalatinsk on the Chinese frontier.

The First Khivan Expedition^ 1839— 1840. — The first
movement southwards was made against the state of
Khiva. This expedition was undertaken partly as a reply
to the British occupation of Afghanistan, but it was
justified on other grounds. For many years the Uzbegs
had constantly attacked Russian outposts, plundered the
property of Russian subjects, and held a large number of
Muscovites in slavery.

Count Perovski, the Governor of Orenburg, com-
manded a column consisting of 3000 infantry, 2000
Cossacks, and twenty-two guns. In November, 1839, he
started oiF on the long march of some nine hundred miles.
Every arrangement had been made to supply the troops
with all necessaries, and, if anything, the transport column
was too large. Exceptional cold killed off the camels by
hundreds, the horses were unable to find food in the

46o HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

snow, and Perovski was compelled by these adverse condi-
tions to beat a retreat before even reaching the Ust-Urt
plateau, situated between the Caspian and Aral Seas. He
returned to Orenburg in June, 1840, after suffering heavy
losses.

The expedition, although it ended in complete failure,
alarmed Great Britain. With an initiative which is
astonishing, Major D'Arcy Todd, who was at the time
on his mission at Herat, despatched Captain James Abbott,
and afterwards Captain Shakespear, across a desert seven
hundred miles wide to explain to the Khan the danger of
flouting Russia. The mission of Shakespear was remark-
ably successful ; for he not only induced the Khan to
release all Russian slaves, but himself conducted the
liberated captives, numbering four hundred men, women,
and children, to Orenburg, a very notable feat.

In the autumn of 1840 a second expedition was being
organized against Khiva by Russia, but was rendered un-
necessary by the submission of the Uzbeg chief. Finally,
in 1842, Russia concluded a treaty with him, by the terms
of which slave-dealing was to be abolished in Khiva and
inroads on Russian territory were to be prevented.

The Russian Advance to the Sea of Aral^ 1847. — -^^ ^^
succeeding decade Russia set to work gradually and
systematically to occupy the great Kirghiz desert from
the Ural River to the Sea of Aral. In 1847 she reached
the mouth of the Sir Darya. A fort was erected at this
point and a second in a harbour of the Sea of Aral, from
which that important sheet of water was surveyed.

The Occupation of the Valley of the Sir Darya^ 1 849-
1864. — By her occupation of the mouth of the Sir Darya
Russia was brought into contact with the Khanate of
Khokand, whose hostility was aroused by the Muscovite
invasion of her territory. In 1849 one of the forts of
this little state was captured. Four years later a further
advance was made : Ak Masjid, two hundred and twenty
miles up the river, was taken. Fort Perovski was founded
on its ruins, and the line of the Sir Darya was established.
The Crimean War broke out shortly afterwards, and
Russia made no forward step for some years, but de-

Lxxix ENVELOPMENT OF PERSIA 461

voted her energies to making good against Khokand
the positions she had gained.

In i860 the Khan of Khokand attacked the Russian
position in Semirechia, which province had been occupied
six years before. The Russians replied by proceeding
against Tashkent, which was captured in 1864. I^ ^^^
following year the territory between the Aral Sea and
the Issik Kul lake was formed into the frontier province
of Turkestan. This marked the completion of the first
stage in the great advance.

Russian Relations with Bokhara^ 1 842-1 868. — In 1842
the Amir of Bokhara, alarmed at the occupation of Kabul
by Great Britain, had appealed to Russia. That Power
despatched a mission under Colonel Butenef, which was
at first received with the highest honours. But the Kabul
catastrophe reacted on the situation at Bokjiara, where
Stoddart and later ConoUy, who had joined him, were
imprisoned ; and the Russian envoy, who had done his
best to save Stoddart, was dismissed with studied dis-
courtesy by the Amir, who no longer feared the English.

More than twenty years later, in 1865, the Amir of
Bokhara took the offensive against the great northern
Power by occupying Khojent, and imprisoned four
Russian envoys who were found in the city. In the
following year the Russians, after a decisive victory over
the Bokharans at Irgai, reoccupied Khojent. In 1868
the Bokharan army was again defeated and Samarcand
was occupied. Shortly afterwards peace was made with
the Amir, who ceded Samarcand and paid a war indemnity.

The annexation, in 1876, of the entire Khanate of
Khokand rounded off the conquests of Russia in the
eastern sphere of operations, and by establishing her at
Charjui on the Oxus made her a neighbour of Persia and
increased her influence at Teheran. These campaigns
may be looked upon as constituting the second stage of
the advance.

The Conquest of Khiva, i^VS- — The third stage was
the conquest of Khiva. In 1869 the Russians established
themselves at Krasnovodsk, to-day the starting-point of
the Central Asian Railway, and shortly afterwards at

462 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

Chikishliar, near the mouth of the River Atrek. Strong
protests were made by Persia, but in vain. The new-
comers gradually extended their authority over the
neighbouring Yamut Turkoman and surveyed the routes
to the interior. The avowed object of Russia was to
open up a direct route into Central Asia, a policy under-
taken no doubt partly in the interests of the province
of Turkestan.

The activity of the Russian pioneers naturally caused
widespread uneasiness. The Khan of Khiva felt that
the demand made on him to co-operate in opening up
communications with the Sea of Aral across his territory
menaced his independence. A campaign against Khiva had
been decided upon in principle for some time ; it was,
indeed, forced on Russia by Khivan support of the
Kirghiz rising. In 1873 three columns advanced simul-
taneously from Krasnovodsk, from Perovski, and from
Orenburg. Two of these ^ reached the great oasis safely,
encountering no resistance, and Russia annexed the land
on the right bank of the Amu Darya, where she constructed
two forts. The young Khan was reinstated on the throne,
but a crushing war indemnity of nearly a quarter of a
million sterling was imposed.

Persian Campaigns against the Turkoman^ 1857— 1860. —
Before we come to the final phase of the Russian advance,
we must turn for a moment to the relations existing
between Persia and the Turkoman at this period. In
1857 Sultan Murad Mirza^ Governor - General of
Khorasan, invited eighty Turkoman to a conference at
Meshed, where they were treacherously seized and im-
prisoned. Having by this act weakened the man-stealers,
the Persian Gdvernor-General marched on Merv, which
he occupied as the result of a victory. Three years later
he was succeeded by Hamza Mirza, who occupied Merv
a second time without opposition, but was defeated in an
attempt on the entrenched camp of the Tekke close by.
His army fled in complete disorder, leaving its guns to

^ The Krasnovodsk column was forced to retreat from lack of water, after burying
its guns in the sand. Burnaby comments on the fact that no use was made of water
transport, although steamers had penetrated as far as Kungrad on the Amu Darya to the
north of the Khivan oasis.

Lxxix ENVELOPMENT OF PERSIA 463

the victorious Turkoman ; -^ and slaves in Central Asia
became cheaper than they had been for a generation.^
No sustained effort was made to restore Persia's lost
prestige, but some of the guns were recovered in a raid
from Sarakhs, which was retained as a Persian frontier fort.

The Crushing of the Turkoman by Russia^ 188 1. — We
return now to the Russian advance. After the subjuga-
tion of Khiva the only independent area left in Central
Asia was that of the Turkoman, over which, as we have
seen, Persia exercised vague and ineffectual control. Every
year from Chikishliar the Russians despatched strong
columns into the interior, and gradually they annexed the
right bank of the Atrek as far as Chat.^ They also began
to control the Yamut tribe.

In 1877 General Lomakin advanced on Kizil Arvat,
but retreated before making good his position. Two
years later he advanced to Geok Teppe, or " Blue Hill,"
the famous entrenched camp of the Tekke. His artillery
caused terrible losses among the Turkoman, who were
crowded into a small area, but his assault failed and he
retreated with heavy losses. The shock to Russian
prestige was terrible, and the event may perhaps be
compared with the British retreat from Kabul.

General Skobeleff was now entrusted with the task
of rehabilitating Russia's lowered reputation. Realizing
that the question of transport was of primary importance,
he decided, as did Lord Kitchener later when faced with
a similar problem, to construct a railway across the level
steppe. With its aid,* joined to his own powers of
organization, he was able to bring 8000 men with fifty-
two guns and eleven machine-guns against Geok Teppe,^
where the Turkoman had decided to make their last stand.
In January, 1881, in spite of the desperate sorties of the
Tekke, parallels were dug and a breach was made, through
which a deadly fire was poured into the confined area.

^ Vide Mer'v Oasis, ii. 170.

2 Vamb6ry in his Li/e and Travels gives the average price of a slave at Bokhara
at ;^3, but mentions that the price went down to five shillings after the Persian
disaster.

3 Mer'v Oasis, chap. iii. ; also Ten Thousand Miles, etc., p. 16.
* Only a few miles were actually constructed by 1881.

^ Dangil Teppe is the actual name j 'uide The Heart of Asia, p. 291.

464 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

The final assault was entirely successful. The signal was
given by the explosion of a mine, which levelled a large
section of the wall, and the Russians, advancing in several
columns, quickly captured the fortress. The pursuit of
the fugitives, seen by O'Donovan from the neighbouring
hills, turned the flight of the Turkoman into a rout.
Thus fell the last great stronghold of Central Asia. Many
years after this victory, as I wandered among the ruins of
the fort, while ready to pay due homage to the assailants'
valour, I marvelled at the desperate courage with which
this simple walled enclosure had been held for more than
twenty days against the Russian army. For the Tekke
Turkoman the blow was crushing and final. The Tekke
of Merv were persuaded to submit by Alikhanofi^, a
Russian officer who by birth was a Moslem of Daghestan ;
and in 1884 Merv became a part of the Russian Empire.
The Sariks of Yulatan, the oasis to the south, followed
suit, as did other minor tribes also. This successful cam-
paign constituted the fourth and last stage of the Russian
advance.

The Effect on Persia, — The eff^ect on Persia was two-
fold. That power has been unable to repress the constant
raiding of Khorasan by the Tekke, Yamut, and Goklan,^
and consequently the action of Russia was an inestimable
benefit to the harassed peasantry. Against this must be
set the hemming-in of Persia to the north and the loss
of her prestige through the Russian annexation of Merv.
The new frontier, too, which ran up the River Atrek as
far as Chat and thence up the Sambar, was drawn most
unfavourably for Persia in its eastern section. All the
fertile atek^ or skirt, of the range was annexed by the
Russians, and the Persian villagers of the uplands were
not permitted to increase the extent of their irrigated land
by a square yard or to plant a new tree. To-day Russian
officials cross the Persian frontier at will and punish any
contravention of the treaty by the destruction of crops
and in other ways.

The Capture of Herat by Dost Mohamed^ 1863. — We

^ Unfortunately, of recent years the Turkoman who inhabit the Gurgan Valley have
recommenced their murderous raids.

Lxxix ENVELOPMENT OF PERSIA 465

must now turn for a while to the affairs of Afghanistan.
Sultan Ahmad Khan, after being secured in his govern-
ment, protested strongly against the occupation of Farrah
by Dost Mohamed Khan, which had been effected in 1856.
Great Britain declined to interfere, and in 1862 the Herat
ruler took advantage of disturbances at Kabul to expel
the Afghan garrison. Dost Mohamed almost immediately
took the field and after recovering Farrah marched on
Herat. In May, 1863, he effected its capture without
great difficulty.

Sultan Ahmad had died during the last weeks of the
siege and Dost Mohamed survived his triumph only a
few days. The Persian Government had viewed the
presence of the Amir on the borders of Khorasan with
concern and were dismayed at the fall of Herat ; but
with the death of Dost Mohamed the menace passed
away. At the same time, in Afghanistan as in Central
Asia, the political situation had changed to the distinct
disadvantage of the Shah.

The Makran Boundary Commission^ 1 870-1 871. — We
must now turn to the advance of the Indian Empire. In
the first half of the eighteenth century Baluchistan had
been constituted a province of Persia by Nadir Shah, and
in 1739 Nasir Khan Brahui was appointed Beglerhegi^ or
Governor. Upon the assassination of the Great Afshar,
Nasir Khan at first acknowledged the suzerainty of
Ahmad Shah, but later on asserted his independence.
After his death, in 1795, Baluchistan reverted to chronic
anarchy, being divided among a number of chiefs who
raided Persia and fought among themselves. Under
Mohamed Shah Persia began to reassert her claims, and
through the instrumentality of Ibrahim Khan of Bam
district after district was annexed. In 1864 Sir Frederic
Goldsmid, who was the first Director of Telegraphs in
Persia, found that west of Gwadur there was no settled
authority to deal with ; and it speaks highly for his
capacity and tact that the telegraph line was ever com-
pleted and worked. It thus appeared desirable, not only
from the point of view of telegraph construction and
maintenance, but equally in the interests of the protected

VOL. II 2 H

466 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

state of Kalat, and lastly of Persia itself, to fix a definite
boundary, and negotiations were opened with this object.
These culminated in an agreement for a joint commission
by Great Britain, Persia, and Kalat ; but owing to the per-
sistent obstructiveness of the Persian Commissioner and
the hostility of Ibrahim Khan, little or no progress was
made. General Goldsmid ultimately marched to Gwadur,
where he was joined by Major Lovett, who had made a
survey of the proposed frontier line, and was able to com-
plete the information previously collected. The British
Commissioner then gave his decision, delimiting the
boundary from a point east of Guattar (which must not
be confused with Gwadur) up to Kuhak. After some
demur the Shah accepted this line, which was favourable
to Persian claims ; and General Goldsmid was encouraged
by the signal compliment to attempt a still more difficult
task.

The Si Stan duestion. The First Phase ^ 1863-18 70. — One
of the most important questions which confronted the
British Government after the signature of the Treaty of
Paris was that of Sistan. This delta province was
originally Persian, but it was annexed by Ahmad Shah
and formed part of his successor's empire. In the
internal struggles for power which subsequently distracted
Afghanistan it became attached alternately to Kandahar
and Herat, Yar Mohamed Khan holding it tributary
during most of his lifetime. After his death the
Government of the Shah began to make good its claims
on its lost provinces. Ali Khan, the chief of the
Sarbandi,^ gave his adherence to Persia, and was honoured
with the hand of a Persian princess in marriage. This
occurred about 1857, and during the reign of Dost
Mohamed both Ali Khan and his successor, Taj
Mohamed, acknowledged the supremacy of Persia.
The Shah, during the years 1861-63, repeatedly invited
the British Government to intervene to protect Sistan
against Afghan aggression. The answer he received was
that, as the British Government did not recognize the

1 The Sarbandis were ancient inhabitants of Sistan. Carried off to Burujird by
Tamerlane, they were brought back by Nadir Shah.

O
u

Lxxix ENVELOPMENT OF PERSIA 467

sovereignty of the Shah in Sistan, it could not interfere.
Strictly, the case was one in which the recently signed
treaty might have been invoked ; but, as the Government
of India had not at this time acknowledged Shir Ali
Khan, who was fighting to establish himself at Kabul,
arbitration was out of the question. Being pressed to
give a definite answer as to its intentions, the Foreign
Oflfice in 1863 wrote that "Her Majesty's Government,
being informed that the title to the territory of Sistan is
disputed between Persia and Afghanistan, must decline to
interfere in the matter, and must leave it to both parties
to make good their possession by force of arms."

This declaration of policy favoured Persia, as Shir Ali
at the time was unable to defend Afghan frontier interests.
The Government of the Shah, on the other hand, secure
from British remonstrances, continued steadily to pursue
its policy of establishing Persian influence and power until
aU the Persian inhabitants of Sistan had been brought
under the control of Teheran. But Shir Ali, having at
length succeeded in establishing himself firmly upon the
throne of Kabul, threatened to go to war with Persia.
Upon this the British Government, forsaking the policy
of masterly inactivity, proposed arbitration under the sixth
article of the Treaty of Paris, and this offer was accepted.

The Sistan Arbitration Commission^ 1872. — After his
success in securing the ratification of the Makran
boundary. Sir Frederic Goldsmid was instructed to
proceed to Sistan and there adjudicate on Persian and
Afghan claims. The British Mission started from Bandar
Abbas and in Sistan was joined by General Pollock, who
represented Lord Mayo, Governor-General of India, and
by Dr. Bellew, the well-known orientalist.

The Amir of Kain, Mir Alum Khan, and the Persian
Commissioner both treated the Mission with marked
hostility and made it abundantly clear that it is a mistake
not to provide an escort of British troops on such
occasions. General Goldsmid, whose forbearance was
extraordinary, made such surveys and enquiries as were
possible, and then, as in the case of the former Boundary
Commission, returned to Teheran.

468 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

In his award he distinguished between Sistan proper
and outer Sistan. The former he defined as running
from the nayzar^ or reed beds, on the north to the main
canal on the south, the district being bounded at that
period by the Helmand on the east. This area, estimated
at nine hundred and fifty square miles, with a population
of 45,000, was awarded to Persia. Outer Sistan, or the
district on the right bank of the Helmand, was awarded
to Afghanistan.

From the point where the main canal started, at the
great dam known as the Band-i-Sistan^ the frontier was
declared to run in a direct line to Kuh-i-Malik-i-Sia, the
spot — at that time unvisited — where both Persia and
Afghanistan now touch the Indian Empire. This decision
was undoubtedly favourable to Persia and granted her
all she could reasonably claim. Shir Ali, on the other
hand, gained no part of the most fertile tract, Afghan
Sistan being relatively barren and unpopulated. But, as
Rawlinson put it, " Sistan, in fact, was Persian territory,
which had been irregularly attached at different periods
to Herat and Kandahar." Given this fact and given the
recent exertions of Persia, the award, however unpalatable
to Shir Ali, was just.

The Perso-Baluch Boundary Commission^ 1896. — Sir
Frederic Goldsmid had thus delimited first the boundary
from Guattar, the port on the Arabian Sea, to Kuhak,
and later that from Sistan to Kuh-i-Malik-i-Sia. Between
these two points lay an area, three hundred miles in length,
which was mostly desert, but contained some debatable
date groves claimed both by Persia and by Kharan, a
desert province of British Baluchistan. Owing mainly
to the existence of these, a Boundary Commission was
constituted in 1896 under Colonel (now Sir Thomas)
Holdich, on which I had the honour to serve.^ Kuhak
had been seized, upon the departure of General Goldsmid,
by the active Ibrahim Khan, but the British Government
had never recognized it as belonging to Persia. By the
award of the Commission it became a Persian possession,
while the southern Mashkel date groves, including

^ Ten Thousand Miles^ etc,^ chap. xix.

Lxxix ENVELOPMENT OF PERSIA 469

Ladgasht, were given to Kharan. A few other date
groves farther north, including those of Muksotag, were
awarded to Persia.

As the cool season — in which alone surveying is
possible — was nearly over before the Commission started
work, Colonel Holdich decided to make the ranges
running down from Kuh-i-Malik-i-Sia, known as Kacha
Kuh and Kuh-i-Mirjawa, the boundary in the northern
section of the area. Any other arrangement would have
involved a second season's work, which would have been
very difficult to arrange. By this setdement the defini-
tion of the Persian frontier was completed from the port
of Guattar to Sistan, and, as the disputed Hashtadan Plain
in Khorasan had been delimited by General Maclean in
1 89 1, the only gap which remains to-day is from the
south of the Hashtadan boundary pillars to Sist^n, a dis-
tance of perhaps two hundred miles.

The Second Sistan Arbitration Commission^ 1903— 1905. —
In 1 891 the Helmand began to change its course, and when
I founded the Sistan Consulate in 1899 the main channel
of the river, termed the Rud-i-Perian or " River of the
Fairies," flowed considerably west of the channel which
General Goldsmid had accepted as the boundary. This
change necessitated the despatch of a second Arbitration
Commission, under Colonel (now Sir Henry) McMahon.
On this occasion the British representative was accompanied
by a strong escort, which placed him in a very different
position from that of Sir Frederic Goldsmid. The intri-
cate question was carefully and exhaustively studied under
the most trying extremes of heat and cold, and incident-
ally considerable additions were made to our knowledge of
the geography of this corner of Asia. By the award the
boundary was made to run as before from Kuh-i-Malik-i-
Sia to the Band-i-Sistan^ the chief dam, and thence along
the Helmand to the point at which the two branches were
formed. It followed the Nad Ali channel as before, but
the line, which ran approximately north in this section,
was laid down with greater precision than had been possible
in the case of the first Commission.

The Per so -Turkish Boundary, — In the west alone have

470 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.

the boundaries of Persia remained practically unchanged
during the last century. In 1843 a Mixed Commission,
including representatives of Great Britain and Russia, was
appointed to adjudicate upon the Perso-Turkish boundary,
which, owing to the population of shifting nomads and the
hilly nature of the country, was a complicated matter to
settle. This Commission led in 1847 to the Treaty of
Erzeroum, by the terms of which each of the neighbouring
powers abandoned some territory to which it laid claim
and agreed to appoint commissioners to define the frontier.
The new Commission met in 1849, ^^5^3 ^^^ ^^S^ ^t
Mohamera and Baghdad, but without arriving at any de-
finite result. In 1851 Lord Palmerston suggested that
the general line of frontier should be traced at Constantin-
ople, in conformity with the Treaty of Erzeroum, by the
agents of Persia and Turkey, with the assistance of the
commissioners, doubtful localities being left for future
settlement. This suggestion was agreed to, and survey
operations were conducted during a period of eight years
(from 1857 to 1865), as the result of which a map was
made of the country between Ararat and the Persian Gulf,
a tract seven hundred miles long and from twenty to forty
miles wide. The Porte was then informed that " in the
opinion of the mediating powers the future line of
boundary between the dominions of the Sultan and the
Shah was to be found within the limits traced on the
map, and that the two Mohamedan Governments should
themselves mark out the line, and that in the event of
any diflFerences between them in regard to any particular
locality, the points in dispute should be referred to the
decision of the Governments of England and Russia."

In 1907 Turkey, taking advantage of Persian internal
troubles, occupied not only "doubtful localities," but
also what was without question Persian territory. Some
years later, however, a Mixed Commission was once again
constituted, and in October 19 14, a day before the
outbreak of hostilities between Russia and Turkey, the
last boundary pillar erected at the foot of Mount
Ararat completed the demarcation of the Turko-Persian
frontier.

Lxxix ENVELOPMENT OF PERSIA 471

Summary, — In this chapter we have traced the envelop-
ment of Persia from the north and from the east. The
Great Northern Power, urged on by the irresistible forces
which ever drive an organized state to expand at the
expense of unorganized neighbours unable, and often un-
willing, even to restrain their subjects from raiding, has
advanced in four great strides from Orenburg to the
Persian frontier. In its progress it has absorbed the
valley of the Sir Darya, Bokhara and Samarcand, Khiva,
and finally the country of the Turkoman, which now con-
stitutes the province of Transcaspia, with its capital at
Askabad. Russia has firmly established her power in
this vast sparsely populated steppe territory and has
riveted her yoke by means of the Central Asian railway
in the first place, and more recently, in 1905, by the line
which joins Tashkent to Orenburg. Other railways are
being projected. I have travelled in Central Asia on more
than one occasion and can testify to the steady progress
visible on every side, which contrasts most favourably with
the lack of security, of order, and of justice characteristic
of the native regimes described by the ready pen of
Vamb6ry.

This advance of Russia has been the subject of bitter

criticism in England ; but the critics, many of whom are

badly informed, do not appear to realize that during the

same period Great Britain has annexed great, fertile, well-

j populated provinces in India. Outside India, too, the

huge desert province now known as British Baluchistan

\ has been annexed, and the foreign relations of Afghanistan

\ are at the present day controlled by the Government of

\ India. On the western frontier alone there has been

\ no important change to record, and the exact boundary

\between the Persian and Turkish empires has been laid

iiown by a Commission on which representatives of Great

Britain and Russia are serving.

The Signature of Nasir-u-Din Shah Kajar.
(Through the courtesy of Messrs. Tussauds.)

CHAPTER LXXX

THE AWAKENING OF PERSIA
The stream of renovation flows quickly towards the East. — Jamal-u-din.

The duestion of Telegraphic Communication between
England and India. — In the preceding chapter it has been
shown by what process the boundaries of Persia have been
fixed as they are to-day. In the present some account
is given of the steps Persia has taken towards the utiliza-
tion of the material and commercial advantages of Europe.

One great difference between the progressive West
and the unprogressive East lies in the nature of their
communications. In Persia, as explained in Chapter II.,
little improvement can be recorded since the days of
Cyrus the Great, so far as the Persians themselves are
responsible. Fortunately, however, Persia lies on the
highway of the nations, and owing to her advantageous
position has become the recipient of a splendid service of
telegraph lines.

Before we deal with these, it is desirable to glance at
the larger question of telegraphic communication between
England and India, of which the Persian lines formed a
part. During the Indian Mutiny the need for direct
telegraphic communication was seriously felt in England,
and in 1859 an attempt was made to lay a cable down the
Red Sea in correspondence with wires which stretched
from Marseilles to Alexandria. This attempt entirely
failed.

At that period Turkey had realized the advantage of
the telegraph for the control of her widespreading

472

cH.Lxxx THE AWAKENING OF PERSIA 473

empire. For her own ends she decided to construct a
line from Constantinople across Asia Minor to Baghdad.
It was proposed that it should be continued thence to
India by the British Government ; and, in view of the
failure in the Red Sea, this scheme was gladly adopted.
Some years were consumed in negotiations and surveys,
but in 1863 the Overland Telegraph Convention was
concluded at Constantinople. Owing to the feeble con-
trol exercised by Turkey over the tribes to the south
of Baghdad and the malarious climate (although these
obstacles proved to be less serious than had been
anticipated), it was decided to provide an alternative line
through Persia to connect at Bushire with the cable to be
laid down the Persian Gulf.

The First Telegraph Line in Persia^ 1864. — Accord-
ingly, negotiations were opened with the Shah for the
construction by British officers of a circuitous line
running from the Persian frontier near Baghdad to
Kermanshah, Hamadan, and Teheran, and from the
capital to Bushire. At first the proposal met with
strenuous resistance from the reactionary party, but the
Shah determined to benefit by the scheme, and by the
end of 1864 the first single- wire line was constructed.
The obstacles to be overcome were great, consisting in
depredations by the tribes and ignorant obstruction by
the Persian local officials ; but the British officers and
non-commissioned officers were a splendid body of men,
and thanks to their tact and capacity the original con-
cession was repeatedly modified and important develop-
ments were made.

The Indo-European Telegraph Lines. —